Inflamed
by Manny Siliezar
Summary: From the age of 4, Izuku Midoriya learned that not everyone was born equal. As such, he wasn't going to squander the blessing given to him.
1. Izuku Midoriya: Origin

**AN: *Siiiigh* What is this idiot doing? Another story? He can't even keep up with his other ones! **

**"NEVER FEAR, FOR I FULLY INTEND TO CONTINUE WRITING THEM ALL!" Manny proclaims boldly! **

**Anyways, This is my first attempt at writing a canon protagonist! _Nervous sweating_, All I know is SI's, I really have no clue how I'll fair. In all actuality, it's this fear alone that prevented me from posting this story idea months ago. And now that I am, the concept is rather saturated,(Not that it wasn't before, but deniability is the name of the game baby!). Izuku with a quirk! I tried to mesh the two quirks his parents have together and came up with this... (Who am I kidding, it's just Natsu). **

**That being said, I can genuinely say that no matter what I do for this story, someone's already done it before. This isn't a new concept. As such, I'd like to present my muses... Can I call them that? Er... My greatest inspirations/influences: **

**btn29's 'Torchbearer' motivated me greatly to write this. I grabbed a lot of inspiration from their story, I personally feel like it's a good standard to strive towards! I mean, it's SUCH a good story! Seriously, my favourite MHA story on this site! Although, given their success, I doubt they need a extra like myself to promote them!**

**sremiehzla's 'Deku: The Telekinetic Hero' was the first quirk!Izuku story I read, and the first thing that came to mind was "Wow, I wanna write something like that!" They too, inspired me greatly to write this! Their story is also incredible as well! And again, I'm probably preaching to the choir here! You guys already know just how amazing their story is. Although, a fun fact about their story is that they wrote most of it on their phone! LIKE HOLY!**

**_Ahem_... Sorry, I'm done fanboying. Also, I'm only human, so if there are errors, let it be known I've been editing this chapter for months. At this point someone could sneak in full passages of the charter of rights and I'd be none the wiser. On another note, I don't think it needs to be said but... I don't own My Hero Academia. **

**Okay, that's everything. Without furtherado, chapter 1:**

* * *

By the age of 4, it became clear to Izuku Miodriya that some people, simply weren't as strong as others. Some people simply weren't gifted with the same advantages and some people simply weren't born equal.

It all dawned on him like an epiphany one night. It was storming outside, and the chaos was simply too much for the neighbourhood generator to handle, promptly fizzling and breaking down. Without power, the Midoriya household relied on candles to light up the darken rooms.

It was through this inconvenience, this denial of light and electricity that Izuku shined the brightest. Metaphorically and literally as the candlelight was soon drawn towards, and then sucked down by the child. The sudden movements caused his stomach to gurgle, and air forced its way out from his throat. Air and fire that is, the boy burped fire.

Needless to say, tiny Izuku was ecstatic to finally awaken his quirk. Even from a young age, he had a hobby, daresay obsession with quirks. And even at four, his mind was whirling at the implications of his newfound power.

The following day, he was quick to demonstrate his quirk. He asked his teachers for a small fire, to which they hesitantly agreed. And much like the night before, Izuku opened his mouth, and all but slurped down the gentle small flame.

The teachers clapped, and his fellow students all stared in awe. They were all but certain he was quirkless, he was the last one to manifest a quirk in his class after all. Izuku flushed in embarrassment at the sudden praise and attention, but ultimately decided to continue with his demonstration.

Izuku's cheeks were puffed, he tilted his head upwards and unleashed a small fountain like stream of fire. It lingered in the air, only a foot or two from his mouth before dissipating entirely. If the awe and praise was obligatory before.

Then now, it was definitely present with genuine awe and expectation.

"Wow, Midoriya, your quirk is very amazing!" His male teacher exclaimed, clapping his hands and beaming proudly towards the boy.

"It sure is!" His female teacher agreed.

The students all but cheered at the phenomenon before them. Izuku was a walking flamethrower. The praise, the genuine praise made Izuku beam in joy. They thought his quirk was cool too! They thought it was amazing, just like Kaachan's! Surely then, he could become a hero, just like his idol, All Might!

Speaking of Kaachan, he turned to see his friend's reaction. The green haired boy flinched at the deepening scowl on his friend's face. His sharp eyes were narrowed, his red eyes glaring at Izuku. Despite that all, Kaachan remained quiet, favouring to simply glare at his friend.

The rest of the day passed, with people going up to Izuku and asking him about his quirk. The timid boy would dissolve into a babbling mess every time. But instead of scorn, the majority of his classmates found it annoying at worst. It didn't deter them from continuously seeking him out.

Lunch arrived, and Izuku was looking forward to speaking with Kaachan, perhaps now the name Deku would lose all of it's meaning. After all, with a quirk like his, surely, he couldn't be useless, right?

Izuku practically ran over to his friend and was skipping before him in endless energy. The blond's scowl deepened at his sight.

"What is it Deku?" The little boy said through gritted teeth.

"D-deku? B-but I have a quirk n-"

"Who cares? You're still Deku, you're still useless," Kaachan interrupted, crossing his arms and sulking deeper into his chair.

Katsuki was not pleased. Not pleased at all to hear the students and teachers praise Deku, Deku of all people! Deku was a weak crybaby. It angered him to think that Deku of all people was now his equal. It pained Katsuki to admit Deku had a pretty cool quirk too. It pained him greatly. It felt threatening. It felt dangerous. Even at his young age, he knew when a potential challenge to his climb as the number one hero was presented before him. It just infuriated him beyond belief that his first stepping stone was his cowardly friend of all people.

He knew he was amazing, the best, the greatest! His teachers told him as such. But to tell Deku the same too? That stung. It carved deeply into his growing ego. It angered him. He was supposed to be amazing, no one else! His teachers said he was amazing! It's not fair that someone else can be amazing too! It's his title, he earned it!

Yet, here he was. Sharing the title with someone. It was like having candy ripped from his hands. He had a lot of anger swirling through him. He definitely didn't want to talk to his friend now of all times. Yet naturally, the green haired dummy just had to immediately waltz up to him during lunch.

"U-useless!?" Deku repeated, his eyes were watering at the thought.

That just served to anger Katsuki more. This, this was his supposed equal? A crybaby who can't even stand up to him!

"Yes useless! Your quirk sucks! You need someone's help to make it work!" Katsuki shouted.

His hostile tone and outburst was snuffed out in the cacophonous classroom, but Izuku heard it loud and clear from his position beside the blond. It stung hearing that from his friend. He just wanted his approval, and admittedly to get rid of that mean nickname.

But, to think Kaachan already discovered his quirk's weakness from one demonstration alone. His friend was really amazing. It was due to Kaachan's inherit talent that Izuku wanted his approval. To be accepted by Kaachan would have been the second best thing to happen from receiving his quirk. The quirk itself topping any experience.

Yet now, he couldn't help but agree with his blond friend. His quirk needed a fire source to work. Izuku learned that much from his experimenting. His mom was pretty nervous with her son playing with fire, but indulged it, admittedly with many precautions in place.

Through that experimentation, Izuku noticed that he couldn't generate fire on his own, he needed another source to successfully use his quirk. Izuku wasn't particularly bummed out by the prospect, too engrossed and thrilled to simply have a quirk at all.

However, with the excitement fading, and his weakness being so openly chastised by his friend. He was starting to see the merit in the criticism. His quirk, objectively lacked practicality. Unless he carried fire with him at all timers, it would be situational.

Izuku in time would learn how to properly and eloquently pinpoint the weaknesses and benefits of his quirk. But at his young age, all he could surmise was that his quirk, was useless without help. By extension, what's to say he wasn't the same?

Pre-school ended and his mother picked him up. He was quiet during the whole time back, his energetic and jovial mood sapped away from his friends' scalding words. Inko Midoriya took notice of her son's change instantaneously.

It was a glaring contrast to the thrilled excitement he shown not only a few hours ago. She asked what happened and only managed to receive a mumbled response of 'nothing'. Clearly, it wasn't nothing, but she really didn't wish to pry.

She decided on a different approach altogether. After supper was cooked, ate and cleared up. Inko made her way towards the house's computer and fired up the only video her son's been viewing for the last few months now.

All Might's debut video. She cranked up the speakers and pressed play. Inko would claim it took courage to view such a bleak and disastrous looking video. However, she would never let her child view something without seeing it first. As such, she understood, if only slightly where her child comes from when watching it.

The hulking man with the never fading smile would emerge from a desolate highway with heaps of people draped across his arms. His booming laughter pierced through the chaos. His smile, calming and resonating. And his words of reassurance and encouragement even made her feel at ease from the comforts of her own home.

Izuku barreled through the door, flushed cheeks and a beaming toothy smile. He dashed towards the chair, launched onto it and glued his gaze towards the screen in practiced ease. Inko stifled a giggle, her child was far too easy.

His sudden burst of joy and energy quickly subsided, and a somber expression washed over his features. It puzzled Inko. Perhaps he wasn't as easy to read as she thought? What had her child feeling so distraught, even after learning about his quirk?

She wouldn't deny the amount of relief she felt once she saw her little Izuku awaken his quirk. She even had an appointment set for the following week. Her baby boy was the only child in his class who still hadn't manifested his quirk. She was feeling nervous and anxious, dreading him being quirkless. Her fears washed away once he started to breathe fire though, a quirk inherited mostly from his father.

Regardless, with her fears quenched and secured, she'd imagine Izuku too would feel excited and happy to finally have his quirk. So why the long face? Her answer came quicker than she imagined as the boy turned on the swivel chair and faced his mother.

His eyes were puffy, and he was chewing on his lower lip in a feeble attempt against tearing up. Pools formed near the bottom of his eyes as his lip started to quiver.

"Mom, can I be a hero?" The boy asked, although it was arguably a begged plea.

Inko was caught off guard, not from the question, but the state of her child. He was crying. He was in pain. Someone or something had made him question his resolve. It sent ripples of turmoil through her person. She fell to her knees in clamped her arms around her crying boy, pressing her cheek against his.

"Of course Izu, of course you can," She whispered sweetly.

It made her heart wrench to hear him choke at her words. He proceeded to cry his heart out, babbling incoherently at her. Inko couldn't resist but reciprocating his actions. The two remained in each other's embrace for minutes, simply indulging in each other's cathartic experience.

* * *

It had been months since Izuku awoke his quirk. In those months he decided he needed change in order to improve his chances of becoming a hero. Although his mom didn't let him use the internet, he did have access to books. Their trips to the library were becoming some of his personal favourites.

This in itself helped surge his ability to read and write tremendously. Especially due to the content material he had in mind. It was difficult, and he'd admittedly get his mom to do some, (most) of the reading. But Izuku was tenacious and determined if nothing else.

Beyond that, Izuku also focused on his interpersonal relationships. He decided against associating with Kaachan. It was a hard choice for him, after all, he admired his friend greatly. But, his mom believed he could be a hero and he wouldn't allow for anyone to undermine her words. He wasn't going to let her faith in him break or waver. In by doing so, he'd have to prevent his own motivation and will from doing the same.

Kaachan at first was furious, even going out of his way to antagonize Izuku. Although the words stung, and he felt like he wanted to cry. He refused to respond. Eventually, the blond gave up, always a massive scowl on his face.

Izuku always wondered why his friend became the way he did. But after his quirk manifested, he was starting to relate far more than he was comfortable with. He had 'friends' now, who stuck to him like glue. His teachers always made sure to praise him in equal amounts they did Kaachan. It was very embarrassing.

Izuku lost count of the times his brain fried from all of the attention and general kindness. He'd normally wish to disappear or avoid so much interaction altogether. However, the aspiring hero took this as an opportunity to practice. The media and citizens played a big role in hero life, usually they were a bit overbearing too.

Being admired for his quirk could just be seen as being admired for his heroics. At the very least, the idea was there so that he wouldn't dissolve into a blushing mess every time someone had something nice to say. It was a work in progress, but even Izuku was starting to see some results.

Inko Midoriya showed great interest in helping her son's dream become a reality. As such, over the months she did plenty of research into heroism and quirk theory. Naturally, she found the latter of the two more difficult to comprehend. However, the path to becoming a hero became quite clear to her.

In fact, the greatest chance for him to become a hero, was actually in the very city they lived in. UA High School was situated in Musutafu City. It had grueling entrance exam rates, but those were ten years away. Ten years enough for her child to hone his skills and be ready.

She was certain of this especially due to seeing the determination on Izuku's face. He still got distracted by All Might video's, and the occasional candy or ice cream, but he had a strong resolve and it showed.

Inko decided that the best way to help Izuku's chances were to first get him some help with his quirk. As amazing as fire breathing was. It was highly dangerous. It's growth would be stunted in the confinements of their house. A tutor or an expert in the field could help him train it safely. It would cost some cash, but ultimately was a necessary investment.

She sprung the idea onto Izuku over dinner and the boy practically squealed at the prospect, nodding his head with such fervor she worried he'd get whiplash. Inko has never seen her boy eat so quickly and actively go to bed. He was basically willing the next day to come.

* * *

Izuku was beside his mom with his hand held. They two greenets had their eyes glued to the building before them. It was slick in design, new with metallic colours. Izuku only knew that the building here was supposed to help him learn how to use his quirk more effectively. Or, to make it not as useless.

Izuku was thrilled by the prospect, sure meeting new people and going to new places made him a bit nervous, but with his mom by his side, and the promise of improvement easily surpassed those nerves.

After some more psyching up, Izuku and his mother marched into the building. The air conditioning splashed over them as they entered. The metallic exterior matched the interior, and the place looked more like a laboratory than it did a quirk expert office.

Inko Midoriya didn't allow that to deter her though, she pressed forward, with her child staring in awe. The aspiring hero never thought he'd find himself in a quirk facility. That just felt like the things real heros used.

The pair walked up towards the receptionist desk. Seated there, was a woman in a neat suit, and hair that looked like water. Her gaze rose from her monitor towards the two greenets.

"May I help you?" She asked curt and politely.

"I've set an appointment with Mizuha Atsunori for Midoriya Izuku," Inko responded mechanically, getting caught up in the moment.

The woman's looked from the woman towards the small boy. Izuku was hugging his mom's pant leg, using it as cover. He peered from behind the safety and comfort that she was.

"I see, you are a bit early, are you okay to wait?" The woman asked.

Izuku's mom only managed to open her mouth before someone started to speak, "That won't be necessary,"

The little boy jumped at the sound and angled himself in a position where his mom can act as cover for both the receptionist and the grizzled looking old man.

"You must be Mrs. Midoriya, pleasure to meet you," The man said in between a bow.

"Mizuha," Inko reciprocated the gesture in return.

He was older, wrinkles on his face and his dark brown hair was riddled with silver roots. His blue eyes fell onto the timid boy, and crinkled kindly. He crouched down, until he was at eye-level with Izuku.

"You must be little Izuku, I heard you have a very cool quirk," The man greeted warmly, a smile on his face.

Izuku beamed at his remark, pumping his tiny chest out in pride. The elder boomed out in laughter and patted the child on his messy green locks.

"I'll help you learn how to use your quirk, but I'll need you to pay attention, can you do that?" The man asked.

The aspiring hero nodded vehemently, his little fists clenching in a sign of gusto and eagerness. The elder laughed out loud a second time before rising up to his full stature again.

"I like him! I look forward to working alongside the two of you!"

* * *

Izuku's first day of middle school had him a bit anxious. No matter how much confidence he managed to gain, something about exploring the unknown always seemed to put him on edge. It was like that for elementary school, and when he joined recreational soccer.

It realistically shouldn't even bother him that much, the majority of his elementary 'friends' were going to the same middle school as him.

He used the term 'friend' loosely, as most only truly saw him for his academic intellect and quirk. Admittedly, Izuku never really took much time to develop his friendships further than that. He was a very busy boy, and if he wanted to become a hero, he needed to devote himself 100 percent.

Every weekend he would head out towards Mizuha's office to practice and develop his quirk. Once he was old enough to understand, his teacher would explain to him that a quirk could be seen as a physical extension of one's body, and as such required use to grow. Kind of like muscles. Izuku took those words to heart and would actively try to use his quirk whenever he could.

Usually in the confinements of his home or in isolation. Quirk use without a license could be seen as a minor crime after all, and that's something the greenet would like to avoid altogether.

Izuku also decided to adhere to a rigorous training schedule. Something he started recently at the request of his quirk instructor.

_"A hero can't solely rely on their quirk, no matter how cool it is."_

_"Right, that makes sense, It'd make us susceptible to jarring weaknesses and villains could exploit that quite easily. The best course of action then is to diversify our talents and increase utility. By doing so, then we can at least make ourselves more of a thr-"_

_"Yes! Yes! Exactly what you said, as such, I want you to create a workout plan!" The older man interrupted with a cheerful smile._

_"A workout plan?!"_

_"Correct! Don't misunderstand, you're a fit boy Izuku, but if you want to be a hero, you need to be at the pinnacle of your physical capabilities."_

_"Okay! I'll do it!" he responded, his demeanor visibly glowing at the sound of 'hero'._

Izuku went to the library and read up on proper ways to better improve one's body. Admittedly the majority of what he found was just magazines and fads. But he persisted regardless. Eventually, he decided on quitting recreational sports and instead joined a gym.

Money was tight, especially with the payments his mom pitched in for his quirk development. As such, he realistically could only afford to do one or the other. Concentrating his efforts would simply warrant the best results.

But beyond going to the gym, Izuku also made sure to go out for runs too. He juggled each and every muscle he worked, maximizing his efficiency. He would wonder sometimes as to why he didn't start earlier. However, every time he would vaguely recall how premature muscle building could have negative effects. He'd usually leave the topic at that.

Back at the topic at hand, Izuku was standing before his middle school. It was three floors tall, probably per year, had a brick gate, cream white walls, and trees lining the entrance. It was imposing compared to his small elementary school. That was for certain.

Aldera Junior High.

Izuku gulped down his nerves and took his first step forward. Only to clip the back of his shin and lean forward.

_This is going to hurt…_ he thought absently, his eyes glued to the quickly closing pavement.

Before he could embrace the cool hard surface, he was snapped back upright with severe force. He was on his own two feet again, which prompted a small sigh of relief.

"Tha-" Izuku froze, his eyes landing onto his saviour.

"Deku, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Katsuki hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"B-Bakugo!? Nothing! I mean, I was falling, but tha-"

"Fucking christ, shut up if you're just going to stutter," The blond responded, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking pass the greenet.

"... Thank-you," Izuku finally said.

"Whatever…" Katsuki stopped, and turned to face his former friend, "You… you're not my equal, you'll never be my equal, got that?" He snarled.

The blond didn't wait for a response and turned away from him. It occurred to Izuku that a bit of a crowd was forming around them, He supposed their reputation preceded them.

"Bakugo!" Izuku called.

The boy in question stiffened, angling his head to the side. Visibly, one eye poked out from his blond spiky locks to glare at Izuku, as if piercing right through him. It made the aspiring hero pause, and gulp in anxiety. He couldn't let what happened in the past deter him from saying something he wanted to say for a long time. He shook his head, and steeled his resolve. Izuku returned the glare with a gaze of his own, one that he hoped portrayed his conviction.

"I don't want to be your equal, I… I intend to surpass you!" the greenet proclaimed.

Murmurs instantly followed from the forming audience. Not that Izuku paid it too much mind, instead, his unflinching gaze remained on the blond. Bakugo turned his body to fully face him. His red eyes narrowed viciously and a feral smile slowly started to spread across his face.

"I'll fucking kill you," Bakugo replied calmly, his wicked smile never faltering.

Despite his tone or the vulgarity of his remark, Katsuki Bakugo couldn't have been more thrilled. Deku finally grew a spine. Perhaps he wouldn't be such a useless stepping stone after all. His feral smile grew wider at the prospect. Deku, who was placed on the same pedestal as him was finally showing something worthwhile.

* * *

Izuku stood a few meters away from the regulated campfire. He turned to face his teacher, who simply nodded in return. The aspiring hero took that as an invitation and opened his mouth wide.

The flames quickly reacted, and were whipped form their position and travelled through the air in a thin stream. The fire poured into Izuku's mouth until the entirety of it all was gone, causing the boy to swallow with a sigh. The irises of his eyes started to glow a faint red.

According to sensei Mizuha, it meant he was reaching his maximum capacity. Three discuses shot from the wall, soaring in separate arches and velocities. The greenet lowered his stance, bending his knees slightly as he inhaled a deep breathe.

He quickly blew towards the targets, flames shooting from his mouth in a concentrated beam of fire. Izuku jerked his head with precision tracing the target's trajectory. His mouth curled into a smile as he watched with satisfaction as the targets erupt into shattered pieces.

The ignited fragments crashed to the ground. The aspiring hero wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and bent over in exhaustion. It was tiring to breathe so much fire in succession like that.

"Good, very good Izuku!" Mizuha exclaimed, clapping his hands.

"Thank-you Sensei," The greenet said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Izuku has worked under Atsunori Mizuha for the last several years, using his facility to cultivate his quirk, as well as take suggestions on ways to improve it. Over the years, Izuku has managed to gain an affinity with controlling the projection of his flames, a mastery that would have been near impossible without the proper supervision.

Additionally, the aspiring hero has expanded his range, both in his fire breathing, as well as fire consumption- as Izuku coined it. At his uppermost limit, Izuku could absorb flames from as far as 30 meters away. Considerable improvement from his initial 3 feet.

Although Izuku couldn't control his flames after breathing them out, Mizuha was adamant on claiming that with enough practice, Izuku would be able to do so. Moreover, his teacher also believed that with enough experimenting, and precision training, Izuku could possibly learn to consume more than just fire. Perhaps heat, even light.

All of these prospects made the aspiring hero more determined than ever, his quirk may have a glaring weakness, but if he could expand his 'fuel', then he'd undoubtedly become more versatile.

"Izuku, This will be our final lesson," Mizuha said after some time.

The boy in question snapped his head so violently, he nearly gave himself whiplash, "S-S-S-Sensei? Why? Did I do something wrong? Ha-"

"Nothing like that boy! Simply put, There's very little I can do for you now,"

Izuku tilted his head in confusion, his mind meticulously working through the meaning behind those words. Was he trying to tell him that there's nothing to be taught? That after all of these years, they're done? But, he still needed to use the facility, there weren't any other places that could allow him to use his dangerous quirk otherwise!

"Don't fret Izuku, you're free to use the facility when you wish, people will supervise you too. I however, cannot offer you any more assistance. I leave the experimentation and advance development to my most adept pupils," Mizuha explained, a knowing smile on his face.

The boy shrunk in on himself, he was thinking out loud again, wasn't he? Nevertheless, Izuku believed he understood where his teac- former teacher was coming from. Izuku had a relatively decent mastery over his quirk's core fundamentals. All that was left was to customize it, specialize his quirk to cater towards his own personal needs.

"Izuku, you have your eyes set for UA, correct?" Mizuha asked, he folded his arms across his chest as he awaited an answer.

Blinking, the boy nodded his head fervorously, "More than anything,"

"Very well, By the start if your final year in middle school, set an appointment with me, show me the progress you've had since today. If you impress me, I'll forward a recommendation to UA," Mizuha explained.

Izuku's mouth hung open, his eyes wide in unabashed shock. A recommendation?! To UA!? His mother and him did some research on UA, and they surmised that admission into the Heroics Department was immensely difficult. But beyond that, every year, a select few students would be accepted via recommendation.

Recommendations basically meant that the student was the best of the best. They took a specialized test, one even more daunting than the standardized entrance exam. To make up for the increase in difficulty, recommendations essentially reduced the costs of attending to zero, as well as gaining immense publicity. It practically jumpstarts one's heroing career before it even started.

Izuku had to prevent himself from drooling, and focused his eyes onto his former teacher, only heroes could recommend a potential student into UA. Realization dawned on the boy, as he started stary eyed up to Mizuha.

"Y-y-you're a hero!?"

"Hahah, was a hero, I retired a while back, I still run this office though," The man corrected, pointing his open palms outwards, referring to the facility.

"Holy crap! That's incredible, what was your hero name? What was your quirk? Ican'tbelieveI'vebeenworkingunderthetutelageofaprohero,retiredorotherwiseandbeingnonethe wiser,IhopeIhaven'tmanagedtooffendyouinanyway,andmayIpleasehaveanautograph!"

"Wow, take it easy there! Name was Typhoon, my quirk, Water Soaker allows me to manipulate moisture in the air, and if you want the signature of a wizened old man like myself, then sure," The older man said, keeping up with his pupil's stammering.

Izuku nodded vigorously, which prompted the older man to laugh. He patted the greenet on the head.

"You're a good kid, with a kind heart. You'll make a splendid hero," Mizuha paused, and watched fondly as the boy beamed at his remark, "that being said, I won't just give out recommendations just because I like you. You still need to earn it."

Izuku's eyes hardened, his goofy smile was replaced with a thin line. Mizuha was always amazed at how seriously the boy took his heroics. His determination to become a hero was persistent beyond belief, it was practically an obsession.

Mizuha recalled asking what caused his fixation, would motivated him. The response he received was perhaps the last confirmation he needed.

_"Why do you want to become a hero, Izuku Midoriya? Money? Fame?"_

_"No. nothing like that," Izuku paused in his exercise, giving the question some serious thought, "I guess I'm becoming a hero because I was told I can,"_

_"Expectation and obligation then?"_

_"I guess that came out wrong. Ever since I was little I wanted to become a hero. I got this amazing quirk, and I was given the support and encouragement to fulfill my dream. I won't let this opportunity go to waste,"_

_"Yes, yes, that's all well in good, but you haven't answered **why** you want to become a hero?"_

_"I guess, it's because I look up to All Might. He helps people with a smile, acts as their beacon of hope. I want to do that too. I want to help people with a smile," Izuku responded, smiling sheepishly._

Nothing in Mizuha's mind would have convinced him otherwise, Izuku Midoriya has what it takes to become the greatest hero to brace the world. Such inherit altruism was rare to see in this superhuman community. Such tenacity, intellect, drive and resolve created a perfect collage of necessary attributes required in a hero. Atsunori Mizuha was just grateful to be apart of the boy's story. He couldn't wait to see the kind of ripples Izuku would have.


	2. Revived Rivalry

**AN: Awesome reception! I'm always amazed by the MHA Community, we love ourselves Deku! I was going to likely do a bi-weekly schedule(to prolong my reserve chapters... heehee) But given how horridly my mid-term went today, and how many people backed this opening chapter! I was like: Screw it! Hopefully they enjoy it, after all, your enjoyment is my enjoyment! Thanks for the reviews too! I love them! **

* * *

After only a few months of middle school, it was becoming quite apparent to Izuku that classes were going to be pretty easy for him. The majority of the topics have been things he already taught himself.

All of those countless trips into the library truly paid off. His ability to read and write had already reached the level of high-school students. His habit for learning things quickly, and meticulous nature also made him beyond suited for mathematics and science classes. In all actuality, after the initial nervousness of going to school, Izuku was struck with perpetual boredom. His middle-school life was rather stale.

The only real problem he had was mostly in regards to socialization. He wasn't particularly talkative. Yet despite that, he couldn't even pin his blatant lack of friends on his timid nature. In fact, if he were to blame anything, it'd have to be external influences.

Also known as Bakugo Katsuki.

For whatever reason, ever since their encounter at the school gate, Bakugo has been spending a lot of time around Izuku. At first it startled him. His friend, then turned bully (if only for a marginal amount of time) had still left him a bit jumpy.

But as the weeks passed, and Bakugo's worst offences really only extending to his vocabulary, Izuku was safe to conclude that the blond's intentions weren't what they used to be. If anything, he was rather amicable with him, in the loosest term of the definition.

However, this prickly amiability only extended to Izuku, anyone else who tried to talk to the duo would be quickly and violently told off. It left Izuku rather exasperated. His chances at making friends, slowly seeping away, one curse word at a time.

Not that the greenet would ever voice said opinion, Bakugo's company was rather encouraging. He was one of the few, if only other student Izuku knew who was serious about becoming a hero. Not to mention, he was smart enough to help Izuku with any academic problems, even if it was very seldom occurring.

Izuku was snapped from his trance as a minor explosion blew up in front of his face. He jumped in his chair, his eyes whirling at the sudden sound and light. Once they refocused, he saw Bakugo's flexed hand before him.

"Deku, quit dozing off, class ended already," the blond grunted, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"R-right," The teen followed suit, ignoring the stares and murmurs coming from his classmates.

The two walked down the hallways, down the stairs and towards their own separate lockers. In that time, Izuku's mind was in overdrive. Just like every other time the two would head to their lockers. His mind would be running at 100 miles an hour.

Why?

Why was he being nice again? Why was he even talking to him- no, associating with him? From an objective perspective, they look like friends, if you squint. So it didn't make any sense, Izuku swore he'd stop associating with Kaac- Bakugo because he was a bad influence, a negative one. Yet, as things stood, Bakugo was anything but! He was a good foil, a good comparison for him to see how much further he needed to go.

"Deku, I said to quit dozing off!" Bakugo shouted, slamming his open palm against the greenet's locker.

The impact triggered a minor explosion, jolting Izuku away from his internal thoughts. The abrupt noise caused the greenet to fall onto his bottom.

"Ow, that was uncal-" the greenet paused, seeing the scowl present on his not-friend's face.

"...get up," He whispered, his voice icily cool.

"What?"

"I said GET UP! Why are you acting like a goddamn weakling!" Bakugo shouted, his hands subconsciously hissing as his sweat started to ignite.

"R-right, Sorry,"

"Don't fucking apologize!"

"Okay! I won't!" Izuku replied quickly. Holding his hands up in defeat.

Bakugo's scowl deepened, he didn't say anything, instead favoured yanking the greenet by one of his arms back up onto his feet. Izuku noticed a distinct change in the blond's demeanor. Something was different about him.

"Deku, come with me," Bakugo hissed.

He didn't wait for a response, instead turned, shoved his hands in his pocket and marched out the doors. Izuku was left at the lockers with a sheepish look on his face, he quickly apologized to everyone for the commotion and dashed after his sort-of-friend.

Izuku caught up to the blond with relative ease. He matched his pace, much like he did every other time the two walked home. Whether it was fortunate or not that they lived so close to each other was something Izuku would be willing to debate.

Regardless, in this instance, he knew they weren't going directly home. The deviation was clear, it seemed Bakugo had something in mind for them. It made him a bit anxious, it was odd. Bakugo didn't really bully him for long, maybe a month or two back in preschool.

The last instance was when Izuku stood up for a child, one who was at the brute end of Bakugo and his friend's tormenting. The greenet recalled fighting the three. He used Bakugo's quirk as fuel and valiantly held them off. He gave the stranger plenty of time to flee.

Bakugo realized he was fueling Izuku's quirk with his own but was so enraged by the sheer audacity he didn't stop. Eventually though, Izuku did end up losing the battle. They only hit him for a bit before ditching him on the ground.

Ever since that incident, Bakugo stopped trying to bully him. Heck, he stopped associating with Izuku altogether. At least, he did until the first day of middle school. But, like previously mentioned, the way Bakugo has started to interact with the greenet had left him in utter confusion.

"I swear to god if you don't get your head out of your ass I'll fucking kill you…" Bakugo seethed, his eyes narrowing dangerously and fingers twitching.

"Sor- I mean, okay," Izuku stammered, correcting himself mid-sentence.

"We're here," Bakugo supplied, dropping his bag by his side.

Izuku tilted his head in confusion. What did he mean by that? He scanned his surroundings, first noticing the slide and jungle gym set. To his side, a lone tree and bench. Recognition quickly dawned on him. It helped that he was just thinking of this location too.

"I remember here…" Izuku said in forced calmness.

"Drop the bag Deku, get ready," Bakugo said, his hair shadowing his eyes.

The boy in question paled. He had his suspicions the moment Bakugo dragged him here of all places. But to fight? Did he want to see who was stronger? Was that it? Whatever the case, Izuku complied with the request, carefully placing his All Might theme bag safely on top of the bench.

The two teens walked to the center, then both fell into combative stances. Silence befell the both of them. They remained on high-alert but refrained from actually committing to any actions. Izuku was mentally reeling. He said he wanted to surpass Bakugo, he just didn't figure Bakugo would take him seriously. He never did before, and if the nickname 'Deku' was anything to go by, he still didn't take him seriously now.

Why fight? Izuku simply didn't understand what was going through Bakugo's mind. He figured it may be better that way. But in the middle of the neighbourhood, at the park no less? Izuku was worried they'd draw attention, or worst, get in trouble.

"Are you sure we should be doing this here?" Izuku asked, although his guard never faltered.

Izuku would like to think he was rather perceptive, so it didn't go unnoticed by him when the blond stiffened, his muscles tensed, nose twitched, brows narrowed and fingers flexed. In fact, given how high-alert he felt, his instincts were practically screaming at him to move.

"Shut up! I'm settling this," Bakugo growled.

The next instance, the blond lunged, using his explosions to propel him forward at a blistering pace. He winded up his right arm and swung viciously towards the greenet.

Izuku, resigned to fighting his probably-not-a-friend, quickly predicted the telegraphed attack and ducked underneath it. The greenet opened his mouth, and absorbed the lingering flames from Bakugo's initial explosion.

Then, he spun on his heels, turning to face the airborne blond and unleashed a torrent of flames.

The fiery attack didn't reach its target, an explosion disrupted the flow of the flames, and another sent the blond shooting upwards.

If Izuku wasn't currently sparing with him, he'd be vastly impressed with Bakugo's aerial mastery. Instead, the aspiring hero was more focused with diving out of the way of another bomb-like attack.

He just narrowly dodged it, with heat rushing against his body in doing so. Izuku's attention was quickly diverted to the sudden shadow splashing over him, his eyes darting to the source.

Bakugo was in the air his explosions propelling him towards his downed opponent, his right hand hissed and glowed. Izuku fired a shot in response. Bakugo squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side, weaving out of the attack's way. He brought his fist down and ignited it on contact, uprooting dirt as a result.

Dirt?

Izuku's distraction gave him just enough time to roll out of direct impact, but the force sent him tumbling more than he intended. He got to his feet and absently started dusting himself off.

"Take this serious nerd!" Bakugo vehemently shouted, and was once again launching towards Izuku.

"I am!" came the equally vehement response.

Izuku side-stepped the swinging blow and latched onto his opponent's arm. Bakugo tensed as he felt another arm hook under his armpit, he felt Izuku pivot on his heels, and suddenly, the world turned upside down.

The blond bounced painfully against the ground, wincing at the sudden impact as spittle was forcefully released from his mouth.

Bakugo, felt as if his head was spinning but still managed to fire off a retaliatory explosion. Izuku unready for the fast recovery dove back into a roll, creating distance. This gave the blond enough time to reorientate and launch himself onto his feet.

He became mildly aware of the residue flames being dragged through the air into an open mouth, he also became aware of Izuku's green eyes, they started to glow with a dull red outline. He felt tense, Izuku's next attack would be stronger, he had an instinctual feeling of that. He'd have to up his ante if he wanted to deal with whatever the green idiot threw at him.

No more punches, he was getting read too easily. Instead, he'd just overwhelm him with explosions from close range. With his plan made, Bakugo grinned viciously as he launched himself towards Izuku one more time. Instead of winding up for a punch, he brought both his hands back, smoke drifting from open palms.

Izuku felt fatigued, all the constant jumping and dodging in such a short span had him panting, his clothing stuck uncomfortably to his body. He saw the attack coming, but his reactions lagged and his legs protested against avoiding it. He'd have to exchange blows. He bent his knees and raised his arms up in a guard, parting them slightly in front of his face as to not block his path. He opened his mouth, willing his flames to bottleneck at the surface.

"Die!" Bakugo shouted, bringing both his sizzling hands forward in anticipation.

From point blank range, neither of them could dodge the other's attack. They received the full brunt of their quirks. Bakugo felt his uniform singe, and his body burn, whilst the force behind the blow sent Izuku flailing backwards, crashing into the slide set.

There was a pregnant pause, the sound of groans emanating from the playground.

After a few seconds, Izuku begrudgingly got to his feet. He winced when his hand brushed against his side. He was certain that it would bruise. He then remembered as to why it would, and snapped his attention from his side back towards his opponent.

Bakugo was gritting his teeth, and a vicious snarl was plastered on his face. He looked worse for wear, with grim and sweat sticking to his forehead, his uniform appeared unsalvageable, with singe marks and burns riddling it all over.

But easily, the most important feature was the fact that Bakugo was on one knee. Red eyes connected with green. Izuku noticed the minuscule change, he noticed how the blond's eyes widened slightly before narrowing again. Painfully, Bakugo got to his feet, and bit down on his tongue to regain some focus.

"We're not done here De-"

_Fweeeet_

The two teens snapped their heads to the sound, focusing first on the source. Across from them, on the other side of their impromptu arena, was a thoroughly unimpressed officer. He had a whistle sticking from his mouth, and a deadpan expression on his face.

"You two have some explaining to do," The man said as he marched over towards the teens.

* * *

"I'm so sorry for everything my idiot son did officer," Bakugo Mitsuki apologized, bowing from her seated position.

"Shut up ha-"

The Bakugo matriarch smacked up her son, promptly silencing him. The officer involuntarily gulped before clearing his throat.

"W-well, given how this is Bakugo Katuski's first offense, I suppose we could let him off with a warning, but he should strive to better himself. He has an amazing quirk," The officer paused, and faced the scowling teen.

"You wish to become a hero yes?"

"No sh-" *_SMACK*_ "yes, I want to become a hero," The teen corrected, glaring towards his mother.

She had an innocent smile on her face, which only further infuriated him.

"Smarten up then, You and your friend have incredible quirks, but using them for combat, no matter how safe you try to be, is wrong, do I make myself clear?"

The officer waited for a response. Once it became apparent that he wasn't going to receive one, he raised a brow disapprovingly. The blond refused to meet his gaze, instead his mouth started to form a thin frown.

*_SMACK_*

"Could you fuc-" *_SMACK_* "yes! Crystal, are we done here?"

The officer paled, should he write her up instead? No he thought against it, less he attracted her ire. He coughed into his fist before nodding.

"Ahem, uh, yes. That's all, you two may leave,"

Bakugo didn't need a second invitation, he got up from his chair and all too hastily made his way to the door.

The police station he found himself in was small, and relatively quiet given the time of day. However, that's as far as Katsuki's interest went. Truth be told, he was more fixated on the fight.

He lost.

He could have denied it, he knew he could have continued to fight, he was a bit battered, but was more than capable of continuing. However, it was clear that in their last attack, when both hits collided point blank. He got up last.

Deku managed to shoulder everything Bakugo threw at him. He even managed to dish it back.

Katsuki would never openly admit fighting Deku would be a bad matchup for him. But even he couldn't deny that his quirk would only fuel and power Deku's. Not to mention the area they chose to fight in, constricted space crowded with needless obstacles and with plenty of flammables was a severe handicap for his wide affecting explosions.

The blond paused in his step and shook his head. It wouldn't matter, the kind of handicap would extend to the fire breathing idiot too.

No matter how he wished to twist and turn it, Bakugo lost. The defeat grated at his ego. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel oddly relieved. Deku was seen as his equal by society for years.

Bakugo may have stopped associating with him, but that didn't stop the constant reminder and praise always being delivered in pair. It agitated him for nearly the entirety of elementary school. Constant reminder of his equal. Despite that, he always refused to believe it. Actions always spoke louder than words, and what he saw (whenever he had half a mind to care) always left plenty to be desired.

However, seeing Deku on their first day of middle school, something simply drew in the blond. His stance was different, his posture straighten, he carried more confidence. He carried the kind of confidence Bakugo would expect- no, demand from his perceived equal.

However, what Bakugo did at the front gate was nothing more than an impulse, a whim even he couldn't explain. Eventually he got fed up with Deku's timid personality. The idiot was embarrassing him. The blond started to question himself. Was Deku really worthy?

Seeing his societal equal act in such an pathetic state frustrated him. Bakugo simply had to see where the greenet stood in comparison to him. Deku was seen as his equal by society for years. Now, Bakugo was starting to see why.

* * *

Izuku shrunk deeper and deeper into the couch. He couldn't really meet his mother's gaze, especially her look of betrayal. It was surprisingly effective in making him feel incredibly guilty.

His mother sighed, then gently rubbed the top of his head.

"I'm going to start dinner…" His mom paused.

It prompted Izuku to meet her eyes, she looked blatantly disappointed, but there was something else, he couldn't quite make it out. Whatever it was, it made his mother hesitant. It was clear that she wanted to add something more, but, decided against it. With nothing else to say, she made her way towards the kitchen

Izuku slumped even deeper into the couch, slapping his head with an open palm.

He knew fighting Bakugo was a stupid idea! His whole career as a hero could have ended before it even started! Heck, he was only off the hook because he had 'a strong hero quirk'. Izuku swore he wouldn't fight Bakugo again, no matter what!

That being said, he wouldn't deny how incredibly liberating it felt. He managed to hold his own against Bakugo. His childhood friend, turned bully, turned stranger. Although he didn't verbally receive respect and approval from the blond. He couldn't deny that in combat, he felt the closest to being Bakugo's equal in a long time. If their fight was the last time the two interacted with each other, then Izuku could say with confidence that he didn't hold any regrets.

_ding-dong_

"Izuku can you get the door," His mother called.

She was back in her usual mood, but Izuku knew it was forced cheer. With a sigh, the greenet hopped up from his resting place and walked towards the entrance.

"Hello, this is the Mido-" He lost the rest of his voice as a familiar blond was standing on the other side of the now open doorway.

"Deku," The teen growled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"...Bakugo,"

The two refrained from saying anything else and avoided eye contact. The silence stretched long enough to reach the realm of awkward. It prompted Izuku into rubbing his arm, he smiled nervously towards the blond who in turn scowled.

"Izuku who's at the- oh, Is that little Kaachan? You've grown up so much!" Inko said, drying her hands on a towel.

"Y-yep! It's Kaachan, heehee," Izuku said, laughing nervously to help ease his rising tension.

Oddly enough, he noticed Bakugo relax ever so slightly, his shoulders dropping an inch. Both their attention was drawn towards the Midoriya matriarch.

"That's very convenient, perhaps you both can explain as to why you were fighting this afternoon?" The woman asked, her smile taking up a feigned innocence.

Izuku paled, his eyes shifted towards the blond, who remained impassive at the line of questioning. His crimson eyes betrayed nothing, his clench jaw on the other hand, did. After some time, the blond lowered his gaze and sighed tiredly.

"My old hag of a mother wanted me to come here and…" He paused, clenching his jaw again.

Izuku suspected he was biting his tongue, less the blond say something to cause needless problems. The greenet tilted his head in confusion, what exactly did Mrs. Bakugo want her son here for?

The fight came to mind initially, but Izuku agreed to it. He wasn't any less responsible than Kaachan was.

"Deku,"

"Baku-"

"Listen, quit using my godda- my family name," The blond corrected, recalling he was still in the presence of Mrs. Midoryia.

"You want me to call you Kaachan?" Izuku asked incredulously.

"N- I don't care, call me whatever, I call you Deku, so it's… it's even this way,"

"Okay, Kaachan," The greenet said slowly and laced with apparent confusion, he felt like he was missing some parts of the puzzle.

"Tch, that's all I wanted to say."

Kaachan scowled, bowed his head to Izuku's mother- who remained equally as confused as her son, murmured a quiet apology and turned on his heels. He marched off, his hands buried in his pockets. The blond looked as if he was deep in thought as he rounded the corner.

It occurred to Izuku that Kaachan actually didn't really say anything oth- wait, did he say even?!

* * *

The remaining few months of his first year of middle school ended as unspectacular as they started. The only true highlight of the year was finally, finally getting Kaachan's approval, or acknowledgement at the very least.

Izuku would shamefully admit it took him longer than he'd like to realize that. The blond was very implicit about the whole situation, which led the aspiring hero into believing that it was a rather difficult thing for Kaachan to do.

Regardless, he was happy with the overall outcome. There wasn't the usual underlying tension whenever he was around Kaachan anymore. The teen was still crass, and he was still aggressive towards anyone he didn't deem worthy of his time. But at the very least, the two got along much better.

Their friendship was miraculously salvaged. Izuku wasn't entirely sure who he should be grateful to for such a fortunate turn of events. He actually had a friend again! Not that the blond would ever claim that's what they were. If anything, Bakugo continued to call him Deku. But, it didn't carry the same bite it used to have. All things considered, it was much better than being called a b-rated extra in comparison.

Another quickly rising occurrence was their constant hanging out. They frequented a diner nearby both their houses the most. The ambiance inside the restaurant was cozy and soothing, it helped when both were studying for tests. They became fast regulars, even being recognized by name.

Moreover, they two spent plenty of time at each other's respective house. Izuku considered this another sign of acknowledgement, given how he never actually went into the blond's home before. He was never given permission back in preschool.

"Okay class, pencils down," The teacher called from his desk.

A collective sigh escaped across the classroom. Some faces were relieved, others confident and the rare few in dreading horror. Izuku had finished minutes before the call out, and was working on a hero quirk analysis.

Izuku was snapped from his trance, noticing the sudden increase in movement and sound. He surveyed his surroundings and safely assumed the allocated time was up. He turned on his chair and faced the thoroughly bored looking Kaachan. He was resting his head on his palm while his other hand was absently spinning a mechanical pencil with practiced ease.

"'Bout damn timing this shit ended," The blond said once he noticed Izuku's gaze land on him.

He nodded in agreement, to the sentiment if nothing else. He didn't have anything against tests, besides maybe being painfully easy. With finals out of the way, the teens had a break from classes. With the free spare time, the two would assist one another in their training, sparring, or essentially whatever the two felt like required improvement.

If Izuku recalled, the two boys planned to increase stamina and work on precise quirk usage. Bakugo's quirk had potential for long-range application. However, he simply lacked the precision and accuracy. Izuku's quirk usage was far too one-dimensional, so the two sought out ways to increase its versatility.

The two walked home, gathered their necessary gear and supplies then met up at a location roughly between both houses. From there, they set a course straight to Mizuha's facility.

Izuku introduced the facility to Kaachan less than two months ago. Once realizing just what exactly the facility could offer the blond, he couldn't contain his maddening grin. Granted, the greenet misinterpreted it for unhinged rage, but that was a misunderstanding quickly corrected. Kaachan thoroughly enjoyed trashing targets with his quirk, and also had the decency to pay attention when one of the experts gave him suggestions.

They were eventually permitted to use the facility as long as they wished, so long as they left when the final worker did. This granted them free access to experiment and improve their control over their quirks without any hindrances.

The two teens would bounce ideas off of one another, and tended to use each other as live dummies for some of their more intricate special attacks. Their latest attempts have been fruitful, with Kaachan using his body and spinning momentum as a medium for a massive explosion.

The 'Howitzer Impact' took many, many battered bones and bloodied bruises before truly being practical in combat. The two teens were ecstatic, in their own respective manners when Kaachan finally pulled it off.

"Alright Kaachan! Try to hit m-"

"I fucking got it, just stay still and DIE!" The blond shouted.

Kaachan cupped his open palm in his other hand. His palm quickly heated up, turning an orange hue before erupting into a concentrated explosion. The smoke and force was narrowed, and ultimately travelled further than his normal wide expanding explosions.

However, it still lacked the precision necessary to truly pose a threat. Izuku purposely placed himself at the farthest end of the room. It wouldn't truly be long-range if they didn't maximize their space. In doing so, the fiery force from Kaachan's attack barely tickled as it reached him.

They continued the routine several more times with relatively similar results. Eventually Kaachan begrudgingly waved his hand, which was their signal to call it quits. The greenet walked over, already going over things the blond could improve on for their next session.

"Alright Deku, spit it out," Kaachan hissed, his focus more on clutching one of his arms.

Izuku nodded, pointedly ignoring the pain Kaachan was in. He didn't like it being addressed as it was only a drawback from over-exertion. He probably wouldn't be able to do much with his quirk tomorrow.

"I think narrowing surface area is the ideal course of action to maximize distance. It should also double as increased fire power given your explosions would be more compressed and concentrated as a result," Izuku half-murmured half-lectured.

"Right…" Katsuki said, coughing into his hand.

Katsuki quickly realized over the months that Deku was very eager when it came to quirks and their applications. Katsuki had his suspicions before, but this. This was ridiculous, the greenet got overbearing at times. Edit: all the time. However, there was merit to almost everything he said. The blond couldn't deny that Deku was his superior in terms to quirk application.

That being said, it was entirely due to the fact that Katsuki simply didn't care enough for other quirks. He was a genius in his own right, which came out in full force whenever the two teens sparred, (with supervision of course). Katsuki was a combative expert. He had an inherit natural talent for battle tactics and spur of the moment decisions. Deku hasn't won a spar since their first in the play set all those months ago.

"Well then, I'll go next," the greenet said as he stretched one of his arms.

Katsuki nodded and took a few steps back. In that moment, the floor hissed, and slowly parted before the pair. A campfire slowly raised from the ground. The sound of gears and propulsions sang in symphony until finally, the newly elevated fire and it's base were perfectly aligned with the gym floor.

"Thanks!" Izuku shouted, throwing a thumbs up towards the viewing area.

The facility in itself was high-class, efficient and crafted with the intent and purpose of having people survey and examine what was transpiring inside the large gym room. As such, the whole left side was completely full of thick window panes, giving a perfect view for any and all examiners.

A pair of people smiled and tossed a thumbs up of their own towards the greenet from the safety of the other room.

"New move or just trying your weird sucking shit?" Kaachan asked.

"Uh… the second one,"

"Then we're done here," the blond said, pausing to stretch his arms, "see you tomorrow, Deku," he finished, giving a half-wave as he exited the room.

Izuku ruefully smiled, but decided that he wanted to optimize his quirk more before tackling an ultimate move. For starters, Izuku wanted to see if he could consume flames if he only barely had his mouth open. To see how much his mouth played into the absorption process. He wanted to see if it was all a mnemonic device he created at a young age, or if now that he's older, he doesn't have to be gaping like a fish the whole time.

He also wanted to delve deeper into the science behind the 'fuel' to his fire breathing. If he could eat things like heat or light, then access to his quirk would become immensely more practical. Sensei Mizuha said it was possible with enough practice.

So practice he would.

* * *

**AN: "A second author note!? Is he scum?" Well... let's not focus on that. Anyways, this chapter, yeah. I'm not 100% pleased with it. It got across what I wanted, but I don't know how much of it came off too robotic, too forced. Regardless, it'll likely remain as such until I feel it's prudent to go back and fix, if it even needs fixing. I may be overly critical about it. **

**Another thing, I suck at fight scenes, they're just not one of my fortes. This is easily reflected by the countless attempts it took just to be satisfied with what I have. And even then, I had to edit through this fight for 7 hours! 7! Sigh, Hopefully, I'll manage to improve my fight scenes! A guy can dream! **


	3. Butterfly School Trip

**AN: Announcement, my poor body has fallen slightly ill. So, I've been a bit delayed in my writing, this could also effect my editing on this one. So sorry for any sloppy mistakes. Secondly, if anyone tends to check my profile, you'd likely know I've been wholly defeated by my mid-term. Probably going to have to drop that course. Math's so hard, why was I born dumb? Anyways, that too is running through my mind a lot, so it could also contribute to mistakes. Seriously, all of these disclaimers make it sound like this chapter's going to end up like trash, I'm actually quite happy with how it turned out though. Without further ado, onto chapter 3:**

* * *

The day was moving at a snail's pace. The novelty of being a second year quickly faded away after a few weeks. Then, things went back to how they were his first year in Aldera Junior High, a boring experience he was forced to go through.

It wasn't that Izuku found education boring, far from it. The opposite in fact, he had a craving for knowledge and learning. It was due to his unquenching thirst that he exhausted everything teachers could teach him in class. He taught himself first.

However, Izuku was raised to be respectful, and as such he did his best to pay attention to the classes before him. He even took notes, which he thought was tedious and counterintuitive since he already had notes on the subject matter at home.

It was a grueling experience. However, something Izuku couldn't- or simply wouldn't do, that the school could, were school trips. That was something he could get eager for.

"Alright, pick your roommates, 4 people to a room, nothing more. It's a 2 night trip, so you better pack accordingly," The teacher explained.

The class quickly erupted into discussion, with students jumping from screeching chairs and hastily forming groups. Well, all but one. This teen in question simply propped his legs onto his desk in leaned back into his chair in a bored manner.

"Tch, fucking waste of time," Katsuki sneered from his desk.

It happened to be behind Izuku's in this instance, which prompted the boy to turn and face him. A sheepish smile on his face.

"So… We're still grouping up right?"

The blond rolled his eyes, "obviously, go get us some extras." .

"M-me?"

"Yes you. You're a fucking mess in these kinds of situations"

_I don't think I want to hear that from you Kaachan,_ the greenet thought, rubbing his head before getting up from his seat.

Izuku rising prompted the whole class into silence, and all pair of eyes landed on him. He fidgeted in place. Sweat slowly started to run down his face as he remained glued to the spot.

He was jolted upright as he felt the sole of a shoe imprint itself onto his back. He yelped and turned to glare at the blond. His friend returned said glare tenfold. He wasn't going to beat that, instead he hastily faced forward and felt compelled to get his message across.

"We need 2 more people for our group, does anyone want to-"

"I'll do it!"

"Pick me!"

"Don't listen to them, I'll join you guys!"

"You obviously need me for your group!"

"You mean Bakugo? No way, dude's a dick"

"WHO THE FUCK SAID THAT?" The blond erupted, climbing on top of his desk with practiced finesse.

"Settle down class! Bakugo don't use your quirk inside, also please get off your desk," The teacher droned.

The teen grumbled before sulking in his chair. Izuku laughed nervously as the outburst seemingly did nothing to deter a third of his class from swarming his desk. To think the two of them were still so unjustifiably popular made the greenet feel uncomfortable. He was starting to wonder if he should be eager for the trip, or dread it.

* * *

_ring ring ri-_

Izuku slammed his hand against the clock, silencing it. Also, possibly breaking it. He definitely didn't intend to hit it as hard as he did. Izuku blearily blinked the sleep from his eyes and gazed towards his window. It was still dark out, giving his whole room a shadowy overcast.

He nimbly slipped from his All Might blanket and made his way to his bathroom. He stifled a yawn as he ran the water. Why was he waking up so early again? He contemplated the question as he brushed his teeth.

It was during his shower when his memory came to him. His school trip started today! He even recalled neatly folding his clothing and placing it in his All Might duffel bag. With his invigorating shower done with, he hastily got changed.

He scanned his phone and darkened considerably when he had 3 missed calls. He regrettably took long showers. His hair was pretty difficult to maintain hygienically after all. He quickly redialed and was instantly greeted with heated shouts.

"DEKU! What the fuck is taking you so long?" Kaachan hissed from his end.

"Long shower, heehee, uh… my bad?"

"Just let me in, it's fucking freezing," The blond replied before abruptly hanging up.

Izuku sighed, then made his way to and opened the front door, Katsuki was there waiting with his own duffel bag. Currently, the blond was watching his own breath frost with a bored expression. Once he noticed the door opening, he turned and welcomed himself in.

"'Bout goddamn timing, did you fall in or something?"

"I just woke up, I was a bit distracted," Izuku explained as the two made their way to the kitchen.

On the island counter top were two covered plates. His mother left early for work, but would almost always make time to cook him breakfast. It was sweet and Izuku truly had no idea how he was going to repay his mom for all she did.

"Whatever, your mom made you two meals, or she just forget to eat?" Kaachan asked, addressing the second plate.

"Nope, she made that one for you," Izuku explained pushing the plate forward.

The blond's eyes widen slightly before narrowing back into their usual scowl. He took a peek at the contents of the plate.

"Wait, do these eggs have jalapenos in them?" The boy asked incredulously.

"Mhm, told her you liked spicy stuff, I didn't think she'd make you your own eggs though," the greenet explained revealing his own plate of eggs.

Sure enough, the scramble eggs lacked the diced pepper. Bakugo raised a curious eyebrow, just how compromising and nice were the Midoriya's exactly? He didn't ponder it much himself, quickly shoveling the food into his mouth.

The two finished up their meals, cleaned their respective dishes and headed out towards the school. Their walk was done in the dark, as the sun yet to surface.

This was due to their early start time. The trip was in the Chiba Prefecture, and the train ride would take 2-3 hours from Musutafu. In order to fit everything into the schedule, the school decided to send their students early in the morning.

The two teens rounded the corner and saw several other zombie-like students waiting at the front. Three yellow busses were lined up against the road. One for class by the look of things. Izuku and Kaachan were quickly waved over by some of their classmates. The greenet obliged easily enough, dragging his less than interested friend along with him.

They waited for several more minutes, exchanging small talk until finally the teachers deemed the trip ready to go. The bus ride to the train station was done in typical chaos. Chatter all but consumed the bus, even with the supervisor's constant reminder to remain civil. It was the first major trip for most of the students though, so the teacher knew a lost cause when he saw one.

Izuku too wouldn't deny he was thoroughly excited for the trip. However, sitting beside Kaachan tempered his soul and more or less made him good at concealing his emotions. Less his friend take out his frustration on him.

The tickets were bought preemptively, when they were paid for earlier in the year. Izuku was impressed with the meticulous effort put into designing the trip. He chalked it up to years of experience, as Aldera Junior High always did this trip for its second years.

Izuku was glad he was talked into going on the trip. Mizuha and his mom encouraged him to go. However, it was when Kaachan rolled up demanding them to pair up when he decided he'd go along. The blond seeking him out was too good an opportunity to pass up.

On the other hand, Katsuki would never have considered going, as he didn't have any friends to make the trip worthwhile. However, there was still Deku. That was the closest thing to a friend and he made for decent company. If the teen ended up going, that'd mean Katsuki would have been left to fester in his boredom for days. He'd easily manage it, but if he just hanged out with Deku instead, then the problem would have been solved altogether.

Thus, the two ended up deciding to go on the basis of an absence of information.

The pair of teens picked seats near the back of the class's cart. The bullet train was long and slick, it used some ant-magnetic propulsions that shaved off considerable amount of time, making it one of the fastest forms of transportation in Japan.

Izuku took a window seat and stared in awe as the scenery blurred into a collage of colours. He heard his friend click his tongue in frustration, and turned to see the blond slip on some headphones. He rested his head against the cushioned seat and shut his eyes, presumably trying to catch some sleep. Izuku shrugged, looking back towards the scenery.

The train ride was relatively boring beyond that. The first time the train went through a tunnel was sort of intriguing, if only due to the novelty of the event if nothing more. But even that too became a bit dull. A few of the students in his vicinity tried talking to him, until they noticed Katsuki sleeping to his side. Yet again, his blond friend denied him the ability to make others.

"Everyone, the train's about to reach the station, please be ready to leave when that occurs," One of the supervisors said from the front, their voice projecting through the narrow cart.

Izuku nudged his sleeping friend awake, against half-hearted protests. The blond rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he pocketed his headphones.

"The fuck?" He asked, stretching away the soreness.

"We're here," Izuku responded simply.

Katsuki clicked his tongue but refrained from saying more. After a few minutes of loitering, the class was finally able to exit the train. They collected their bags then proceeded to be escorted towards the inn they'd be staying at.

Izuku was admittedly rather giddy by the prospect. He never truly experienced many vacations before, especially since he was more focused on his hero training more than anything. A lot of the money his mom made, went to that actually. Something he was grateful for. To think she was also giving him the privilege to go on a trip like this? He was truly blessed.

The greenet burst into waterworks just thinking about it, much to Bakugo's chagrin.

"You idiot, quit making a mess," He hissed, skipping back in time to avoid the unrequested shower.

"S-sorry, I'm just so glad to be here…"

"Can't imagine why, all we've done is walk around this shitty city."

"I suppose, but it's still a refreshing change of pace," Izuku reasoned.

"Tch, whatever."

That was as a good a confirmation as any when it came to his friend. The class eventually came to the inn they'd reside in for the two nights. It was a large traditional inn. It had nice wooden floors, and a calming aura. It's garden was intricate and well maintained.

But most importantly it was run by a hero. The Relaxing Hero, Tranquil. Her quirk allowed her to forcefully calm people around her, making her ideal for hostage and intensely high-pressure situations. The applications of her quirk were perhaps one dimensional, but that didn't stop her from using it effectively. She essentially made people sluggish and receptively slower than usual, thus making her a strong combatant in one on one situations. She started her line of work a few years ago, and was a rather pop-

"Deku, quit your mumbling shit," Bakugo reprimanded, elbowing the boy.

He yelped, and snapped from his trance. He ducked his head as the rest of his class, and teachers stared at him.

"Uh… right, As Midoriya said, this inn is indeed run by Tranquil. Be on your best behaviour, or she may just make you," The teacher warned.

The class voiced their acknowledgement and were soon escorted into their rooms. It was plain and simple, with plenty of space, a small table and a window outlooking the garden. They had mattresses neatly folded to the side, and a door that led to a washroom.

All in all, Izuku was ecstatic, his hands subconsciously going before his mouth in suppressed awe. His fellow roommates shared a tame yet similar sentiment.

"This place's real chill," one of them said, uh, Rockhead?

No wait, that was the nickname Kaachan gave him. He really should learn the names of his classmates.

"Cool!" The other said, Snaileyes.

Yeah, Izuku really needed to learn their names, less he ends up becoming like his friend.

"Listen here extras, don't cause a damn ruckus, don't make a mess, and most importantly stay outta our way," The blond explained, jabbing a thumb towards Izuku.

The greenet's jaw dropped, his eyes spinning at the needless hostility. The two nodded their heads vigorously, seemingly okay with a scalding so long it came from Katsuki. This only prompted for Izuku to flush in embarrassment.

_He's treating them like his thugs!_ He thought.

"You two done with your shit? Good, then let's go." Bakugo ordered, marching towards the door before even hearing a response.

The two followed suit, and eventually Izuku resigned to doing the same. The group met up with several other students at the lobby. Before everyone was sent to their rooms, the teachers established the lobby as their meetup location. After everyone had their things placed in their rooms, the classes would then go towards the National Museum of Japanese History.

The intent and purpose behind the trip after all was for Japanese History class. Eventually, everyone gathered, and were neatly divided into their respective classes before being loaded up on a bus. A bus guide gave them a tourist introduction to all the sights, much to Izuku's wonderment.

After reaching the museum, the classes were neatly escorted inside the building. It was massive, and carried bountiful amount of culture in it's exhibits and pieces. Izuku, having a craving for knowledge found himself immediately immersed in the setting. He spent a lot of time in the library near his home, and history was one of the many topics unable to escape his clutches.

He felt an elbow in his ribs, which at this point he was starting to realize was Kaachan's way of grabbing his attention. He rubbed his side as he faced his friend. Katsuki looked wholly uninterested, his hands in his pockets and posture slouched over. However, his face was focused on something across from him.

Tracing his gaze, Izuku's eyes fell on what appeared to be some students, their uniforms were different, so perhaps another school? Izuku didn't really know what exactly was so interesting about them, but Kaachan's menacing grin certainly raised alarm bells.

He couldn't ask much about the other school as their group was quickly escorted outside for lunch. The sun shone brightly, and the city bustle clashed with the tranquility the building evoked. The class sat around each other, in their groups as they ate a small lunch provided to them.

Izuku noticed it was a bit dry, but he honestly couldn't complain. Everything was really thought out for the trip. He ran through the schedule again, they'd spend some more time in the museum, before getting an hour of free time, then they'd go back to the inn for the night. Everything about it was precisely planned.

"Deku, let's go," Katsuki said, rising from his spot on the ground.

The teen paused, riceball suspended before an open mouth. He blinked once at the blond in confusion. Katsukisighed in annoyance, he pointed his pinkie and thumb in opposite directions and teetered his closed fist in front of his mouth.

"Mhm, Lesshgo" Izuku choked out.

"Finish your food," Bakugo droned out.

"Where you two going?" Rockhead asked in between chewing.

"What did I fucking ju-"

"Getting drinks, want any?" Izuku interrupted quickly.

"Juice!"/"iced tea" the two said in unision.

"Alright, I'll get them for you," he replied nervously, shoving the fuming blond away.

They rounded the corner quick enough and walked down the road. Izuku recalled a small store nearby, it should have refrigerated drinks, that'd do wonders for the lunch they've been eating, plus the day was gradually getting hotter by the second. He also was hoping the drink might cool off his now heated friend.

"Don't stop me from setting those idiots straight," The blond eventually said, his face in a scowl.

"You can set them straight if you want, but you shouldn't be rude about it," he responded delicately.

"Are you fucking shitting me?"

"Uh… No?"

"Tch, you're a goddamn idiot too,"

"Right, right," he waved off.

Over the year, it became painfully clear that fixing Kaachan's mannerisms would be a difficult task. However, given how he aspires to become a hero too, it would be prudent to make him more appealing to the masses. A swearing hothead was a bit of a niche hero archetype.

In all of his constant attempts to help tame his friend's abrasive nature, he became fully accustomed to receiving crude remarks. He was numb to them actually. It certainly helped with socializing with the blond at least.

The two walked into the store they spotted on their way to the museum. The two carefully walked around a group of seated students before entering the store. A bell chimed, signaling their arrival. The building was modest in size, but packed with plenty of products. The beverages were in the back, chilled and neatly lined up against the wall.

"Those the same extras from that boring ass place," Katsuki said, jabbing his finger behind him.

"Yeah… Another school's at the same museum. Why're you interested in that anyways?" Izuku asked.

"I'm not interested, I just noticed some of them starting shit,"

"What kind of… 'shit'?" Izuku forced out, shuttering at the crase use.

Bakugo paused, his gaze fixated at the kids outside before a wicked grin spread across his face. He hastily shoved his can of iced coffee into Izuku's chest before strutting out.

The greenet juggled the can in a desperate attempt to not drop it. After stabilizing, he turned to face his friend, only to pale considerably. Katsuki was stalking towards the group of students much like a predator would prey. Izuku was also familiar with how both of those scenarios usually pane out to know that things were progressing in the worst possible way.

He hastily placed the drinks down before dashing out the store. He stopped a few paces behind Katsuki, and watched in silence as his friend stared down a trio of teens. They had the same uniform he saw in the museum. So they were likely the same group the blond was interested in.

"You extras think it's cool to deface shit just 'cause you're bored?" Katsuki asked, a smug knowing grin on his face.

"W-who are you? Don't accuse us for things you'd likely do!" A boy with glasses said, looked startled by the accusation.

"What was that?" The blond responded, his tone going icy.

"Yeah! You're clearly a delinquent," another voiced, gaining confidence from his friend.

"I should kill you fuckers so you learn your lesson," He said, small firecrackers popping menacingly on his hand.

"W-wait! Kaachan, we can't start fights without a reason,"

"This your friend? Put him on a leash he's unhinged!"

Izuku froze, and turned to face the group of students, his own face falling into a state of stoicism.

"Look, he may be needlessly hostile and crass-"

"Deku shut the fuck up,"

"-But he doesn't make baseless accusations, if he said you defaced something, you did."

Glassesface audibly gulped, and paled considerably. If he was expecting Izuku to belittle his friend's intuition, he was sorely mistaken. Izuku trusted Katsuki's gut feeling closely. The blond was rarely wrong about things as it stood.

"Picking fights with strangers is unmanly!" Another voice shouted, promptly drawing both parties' attention.

A black haired teen with a scar over his right eye marched over with excessive bravado. He took embellished long strides and had a hardened gaze, he was rather plain with the hairstyle he was sporting, he did however have notably shark-like teeth.

"You're not one of them, get lost," Katsuki said, his gaze only temporarily landing on the new arrival before going back to the trio.

"No way, you're trying to pick a fight with some of my classmates!" The teen responded hotly.

"N-no! We aren't doing that!" Izuku hastily corrected, throwing his hands out in surrender.

The crowd of students, from a different school no less were starting to eat away at his ability to remain calm. Especially since they were murmuring and staring at the alien students that Katsuki and him presented.

"If you're looking for a fight, then I'll give you one,"

Izuku screamed internally.

"You stupid or something? I said get lost!" Katsuki shouted, his frustration boiling over.

"And I said I'm not going to let you bully my classmates!"

"Hey yo!" Another voice joined.

Izuku went ramrod straight. If another person joined in this seemingly endless embarrassment, Izuku was certain he'd run in shame. It didn't help matters at all that the person to join this time was a girl. His experience with girls only extended to mothers and elders! Conclusion: He hadn't really spoken to too many girls!

"Hey, It's Ashido," some student whispered loud enough for Izuku to hear.

He turned and was caught off guard by the sight before him. The new arrival was pink. Literally, Her skin and hair were a light shade of pink. However, her most prominent features would be her black and golden eyes and horns protruding out from her hair.

She had a large toothy grin on her face, and clearly was not bothered by the rising tension at all. It made Izuku feel oddly relieved.

"You aren't one of them either, kindly fuck off,"

"Nope,"

"Hell yeah, you fighting with me? Sweet, that makes it a solid two-v-two, take on the green haired guy, I go-"

"Nope,"

"W-what!?" The teen spluttered, turning to face the pink haired girl in confusion.

"We aren't trying to start a fight, I'm glad you see that.. uh…." Izuku started, only to lose steam once he realized he lacked her name.

" Ashido Mina, nice to meet'cha! What's you're names?"

"None of your fuc-"

"This is my friend Bakugo Katsuki, I'm Midoriya Izuku," the greenet introduced hastily.

He purposely ignored the glare sent his way and instead focused on the toothy smile before him.

"That's cool! I think I saw your uniform, you guys from the museum?" She asked expertly.

"Y-yes, we're from Aldera Junior High, second years,"

"Aldera? That doesn't sound too familair- oh! We're second years too!" The girl beamed, clapping her hands together. She then paused as if pondering something before turning to face the raven haired teen to her side, "actually, what's your name? I don't think I know it."

Izuku blinked at that snippet of news. She jumped in not knowing any parties present? Especially with how intimidating Kaachan can appear? That was impressive.

"K-kirishima Eijiro," The shark-toothed boy choked out, clearly having his sails blown from under him.

"Hmm, I see, I see. Hey! Is your school trip from out of town? Aldera just doesn't ring a bell," She concluded.

"Yeah, we're from Musutafu," Izuku supplied, much to the blond's growing annoyance.

"No way!? The same city that has UA High! That's the coolest school in all of Japan!"

Three pair of eyes underwent separate reactions to her proclamation. Bakugo's narrowed, Iuzku's watered and Kirishima's widen. The three all held different amounts of curiosity, and were interested about the topic. It was their aspirations to be accepted into that school after all.

"You plan on going to UA too?" Izuku blurted.

"Definitely! I want to help save as many people as I can!" Ashido explained easily enough.

"So manly…" Kirishima mumbled under his breath, seeing his fellow classmate in a different light.

"That's amazing, Kaachan and I are aiming for UA too!"

Katsuki growled at the nickname, especially given how it was used in a public setting. Regardless, his eyes landed on the girl before him. Her smile was infuriating, but given how she drew too much attention. It would be impossible to kill the fuckers. Speaking of, the slimy bastards took the constant distractions as their means of escape. They weren't in sight. The blond clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"... I'm done here, Deku get the drinks when you're done with the extras," He finally said, shoving people aside as he left.

"How rude!" The pinkette huffed, "he's really planning on becoming a hero?"

"No, he'll definitely become one. Uhm… if you don't mind me asking, but, what's your quirk?"

"Acid! I can melt things with a liquid I make, I can change its viscosity and solubility too," She answered, seemingly over the blond's blunt dismissal.

"Wow, that's amazing. You could easily enough use that in an effective manner. Actually,theutilitythatkindofquirkpossesseswouldbeessentialwhenitcomestomobility, -"

"Wow! You're like a quirk nerd!"

Izuku felt as if someone plunged a knife into his chest, but couldn't really refute her claim. His head fell in a defeated manner before he felt someone heavily tap his shoulder. He looked up and came face-to-face with razor sharp teeth.

He would have been startled had they not been in a large grin.

"You're alright! I thought you'd try to start a fight like your friend back there," Kirishima said.

"N-no, we weren't eve- well, I don't think we were trying to start a fight. Some of your classmates were disrespectful towards the museum exhibits is all."

"What! No way, you telling me your friend was setting them straight? Damn he's manly too," The shark toothed teen said, his eyes watering as he shaked a closed fist.

_Aren't you being swayed too easily here?_ Izuku thought.

"So what's your quirk?" Ashido asked, steering the conversation back on topic.

"Ah, it's called Pyrokinetic Breath. I can eat fire and use it as fuel to produce flames from my mouth,"

"Oh wow! That sounds super cool,"

"Y-yeah, flashy too. Kirishima murmured, his smile fading.

Izuku noticed the change, it was quite blatant in all actuality. Izuku had only ever seen the boy in his complete earnestness, the change in his demeanor was all the more jarring. Ashido noticed it too, sending a worried gaze towards her peer.

"Kiri, something on your mind?"

"Wha- no, nah. My quirk's Hardening," the boy proceeded to give a demonstration, making his skin appear slightly rough and rock-like, "it's not very appealing, makes me wonder if I'd manage to compete with either of you, ya know?"

"... You want to be a hero too?" Ashido asked.

"Yeah, but I got a long way to go," The teen shrugged, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable with sharing his apprehensions.

"Perhaps not as much as you think," Izuku froze when both students turned to face him, "sorry, your quirk may not be flashy, but it's very practical. If you improved it, I'm certain you'd become truly popular… sorry, I bet you didn't want to hear that coming from some stran-"

"No, no, it's cool. Thanks! You're right! I just got to give it my all, that was some manly advice there Midoriya,"

"Y-your welcome?"

"Hey! If we're all striving to be heroes, then we should totally exchange line accounts!" Ashido piped up, hopping on a foot in exuberant excitement.

Exchange accounts? That's so sudden! He only had a dozen contacts or so, and even less that he actually used. The only other girl in his contacts was his mother! Izuku found his face flushing at the implications alone, but robotically went through the motions of taking out his phone.

"Midori's all for the idea, what about you Kiri?"

"Bonding under a common goal, that's basically the pinnacle of manliness, hell yeah you know I'm all about it!" The boy fist pumped.

The three exchanged numbers with the promise of keeping in touch. They all agreed that they'd see one another in UA. Izuku wasn't particularly cynical, but he wasn't ignorant to the incredible difficulty that the entrance exams possessed. Perhaps that was why Kaachan left so early. Attachments and all that. Regardless, they wished to become a hero, so whether it was UA or otherwise, Izuku was certain he'd see them in the line of duty eventually.

Izuku used up the majority of his lunch time and waved off the two teens, they reciprocated with a wave of their own. He rounded the corner and was headed back to the museum when he finally recalled something fundamentally crucial.

He forgot the drinks!

* * *

Besides the immediate scolding he received from Katsuki, the remainder of the trip was rather enjoyable. As it turns out, both Ashido and Kirishima were students on a similar trip. Theirs was a single day, and far more accessible since they lived nearby.

Katsuki wasn't particularly excited to hear Izuku actually exchanged numbers with what he coined as 'extras'. 'Emohair' and 'Racooneyes' weren't flattering nicknames either, Izuku simply refrained from talking about his fellow aspiring heroes after that night.

The trip itself wasn't nearly as fulfilling or exciting since the first day. On the second, the class was able to switch into casual clothing, or hiking clothing. They went on busses towards nearby trails and traversed it for a few hours.

Thanks to Izuku's conditioning, he found the hike to be relatively easy. The same sentiment wasn't shared with the majority of the class. Katsuki was actually quite at peace, calm even during the whole hike. He even looked serene, it was a new side to him that Izuku didn't even know he was capable of.

He wouldn't tell him that though, that would just needlessly piss his friend off. He wasn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth, and instead decided to absorb the scenery around him.

Apparently, the purpose of the hike was to enrich oneself. But most importantly, there was a temple deep in the forest, one that the teacher thought would be nice to talk about. The teacher made sure that everyone was paying attention by hinting some of the content would be present on a quiz.

Izuku didn't require an incentive to learn about things, in fact, he personally enjoyed it more than all of the walking.

In their free time, Izuku and Katsuki went for a run. Then, they proceeded to spar. Sparring became quite a common training procedure for the both of them, although it initially was one that Izuku strictly avoided.

Izuku was only recently convinced to spar with his friend after the benefits were explained to him in a concise manner. Katsuki never thought he'd have to put so much thought into why he should beat up someone. Regardless, the outcome ended up being the same.

After said spar, the boys in their class were given permission to use the open air spa in the inn. It was surprisingly uneventful. They did relax their muscles, and found the heat soothing for an otherwise tedious workout.

On the third day, Izuku messaged his two new acquaintances and told them he was leaving. Both were busy, but reiterated their goals, sent him farewells and promised to see him again. He felt happy to have meet the two aspiring heroes. One's who seemed genuine in their ambition at the very least.

Ashido was a nice girl, and one who clearly liked to help others. Izuku wasn't naive to what she did, she defused the problem. She actually managed to prevent Kaachan from causing a bigger scene.

Kirishima had a sense of insecurity, yet still strove to become a hero, he too attempted to prevent Kaachan from causing a scene. He was hot-blooded and passionate as well. His quirk may not have been flashy and was considered at a disadvantage by Kirishima himself. But that was simply testimony to his perseverance.

Izuku hoped he'd see them in UA. It motivated him even more to improve. Once he returned back from the trip, the first thing he wanted to do was immediately go to Mizuha's facility and work on his quirk control.

Naturally, his mother pinned him down and forced him to tell her everything about the trip first. Izuku was happy to indulge her. His motivation was never lacking, but that wasn't to say it couldn't be bolstered moreso. With even more support behind him, Izuku fully intended to increase his training regime.

He would never know what kind of ripples his seemingly inconsequential school trip would have.


	4. Setbacks

His second year of middle school went by in a blur. Izuku spent the majority of his time working on his quirk, polishing it's control, it's range, it's attraction, consumption and any other aspect he could improve on.

Izuku realistically knew his quirk had plenty of experimental value. As there were many ways he could expand upon it. However, as nice as theory crafting was, Izuku needed results. The recommendation Exam was fast approaching, and he absolutely wished to take part in them.

Sensei Mizuha said he would give him a recommendation if he impressed him. However, whenever Izuku asked for an elaboration or example for what would warrant such a reaction, his sensei would simply smile and repeat the same phrase. The aspiring hero caught on quick and realized that finding something his mentor thought was impressive would fall on Izuku to decide.

Additionally, Mizuha kept his criteria equally as vague, meaning what was considered impressive in this situation would most likely be subjective. As such, Izuku concluded that not only would he need to gain a semblance of control over his flames- much like his sensei kept on insisting was a possibility, but also deliver with a flashy move, something so universally accepted as impressive, that even his mentor would have to admit it so.

Basically, a super move.

When Izuku brought it up to his friend, Kaachan couldn't really help but raise his eyebrows. Katsuki was working on a second one, already perfected Howitzer Impact. He just kind of figured Deku wasn't ever going to come around and take a stab at it.

Needless to say, he was excited.

Izuku explained what he had in mind for his move. It was simplistic in nature, just breathing a lot of fire in a concentrated beam.

His quirk allowed him to consume fire, and use that as 'fuel' in his own fire breathing. As such, there were some conclusions he was able to make regarding his quirk.

His insides were fire-proof, but his skin wasn't. This disadvantage made him strive to improve his control. He could say now, with confidence that he wouldn't have to worry about being burnt by fire.

He can open his mouth and attract sources of fire towards it. This was the first main aspect of his quirk. A subsidiary of that was the fact he could only consume so much fire before he'd max out. And a subsidiary of said subsidiary was that his eyes would glow a faint red whenever he reached his max.

This would make it apparent to others he couldn't consume anymore fire. If he tried- and Izuku had tried, he promptly found himself not only sweating profusely, but bordering on a food coma, almost like a massive sugar crash of sorts. Regardless, this too, was able to grow, and as he aged, the amount he could consume did as well. As it stood, all he could consume was mostly fire. But due to what Mizuha said all those years ago, with enough practice, experimenting and precision, he should be able to expand that to light and heat itself.

In fact, he could consume explosions easily enough. Courtesy to Kaachan's constant attempts at blowing him up, (with supervision of course). This only further solidified his belief that he could consume other sources. After all, explosions weren't completely fire. At least, not fire in a conventional sense.

His last main aspect of his quirk was fire breathing. The fire he consumed was used to produce fire of his own. He was like a walking flamethrower. With practice, he managed to breathe fire out more than he absorbed. Although he didn't have an exact ratio, he believed it was roughly around double. Whatever he ate, doubled in the form of fuel. The exception being his own flames, absorbing them never gave the multiplying effect, in fact, it was the direct opposite. It had a diminishing effect whenever Izuku decided to consume fire he produced. Izuku sulked at the denied prospect of an unlimited self-sustaining source.

But, that quickly dissipated when all sorts of battle strategies clashed for dominance in his hyper-active imagination.

In terms of fire consumption, Izuku didn't believe he could polish the aspect any further. So far, his ratio meant very little in terms of when he absorbed small quantities, but grew exponentially the larger the source. Frankly, the amount of theory crafting left to be done in this realm of thought was used up. Regardless, even if the vein of thought was exhausted, there was still the theory that he could manipulate the direction his flamethrower could go after breathing it.

So far, if he concentrated deeply, he could slightly alter the trajectory of his flamethrower.

With that in mind, Izuku's special move would be a large torrent of flames, coiling around itself, like twin dragons. Not only was it a flashy move, but Izuku believed the attack would pack more power behind it.

The only thing Izuku lamented was the fact his plans promised a lot more bruises and injuries, if Kaachan's super move was anything to go by. With a rueful smile and an exasperated shake of the head, he got to work.

* * *

"I'm here for my appointment with Atsunori Mizuha," Izuku said to the receptionist.

He absently noticed she was different than the first one he met years ago. The woman, who had some sort of horn quirk turned from her computer screen and nodded towards the greenet. She punched a few numbers into the office phone and forwarded Izuku's message.

The receptionist waited a few seconds, as if listening to instructions before hanging up.

"He'll meet you in his office, down this hall," She instructed, pointing to the her right, where a lone door stood at the end of the hall.

Izuku nodded and followed said instructions. As he walked, he fished into his pant pocket and grabbed a lighter. He started it, and hastily sucked in some fire before snapping it shut and pocketing the item. Although the amount of fire he gathered from the lighter was minimal at best, it still helped him with alleviating his nerves. Calmed him down in a sense. And besides, some fire was better than no fire at all, he reasoned.

Izuku only barely opened the door before his former mentor started speaking, "Izuku! It seems you adhered to what I said, about the appointment and recommendation."

"Yes sensei, I hope I can impress you," Izuku replied, bowing respectfully.

"Haha, Well in that case, let's not waste any time and head to the facility," His mentor said, standing from his desk and walking out of the office.

The two walked by the receptionist, who instantly greeted the retired hero. They continued down the hall, opposite side of Mizuha's office, opened the door and walked down a few flights of stairs. Izuku has walked down this path before, many times with his mentor years ago, and recently with Kaachan in tow.

The thought made his lips thin. Kaachan hadn't spoken to him in nearly a week. Not since discovering that Izuku was trying for the recommendation Exam. Kaachan took it as a slight against him, as if he was being used. He was always super critical about other's and their motives. This time was no different. Izuku admittedly thought Kaachan was perhaps jealous. But, the more he thought about it, the more likely it was that Kaachan was simply offended to be kept in the dark for so long. It didn't help that before the recommendation reveal, the two were arguing about their hero ideals again.

The two loved All Might, adored him, worshipped him even. None would deny that the other was an incredibly devote fan. They both had garnered a lot- if not all of their inspiration from him. That being said, the two focused on complete opposite aspects about the hero and what he represented.

Izuku saw All Might as a symbol of hope, with a smile that would put anyone at ease, he'd rescue everyone he could. Which was true.

Kaachan saw All Might as a symbol of victory, capable of saving the day with ease, he'd defeat every villain he could. Which was also true.

None were wrong, they were simply too devoted to their own ideology to even consider the other.

In the heat of the moment, Izuku blurted about the recommendation exam, and before he could properly explain, Kaachan left with an enraged yet equally disgusted look.

Izuku sighed heavily at the thought. He'd really have to apologize. Pettiness was no way for a hero to act.

"Something troubling you Izuku?" his sensei asked, slowing down so that the two were walking side by side.

"Huh? N-no, nothing like that, I was just thinking is all," Izuku responded, deciding not to pester his mentor with what was essentially friendship drama.

"If you insist, you need to have a clear head during the recommendation exam if you want to pass, and as such I'll have you adhere to the same conditions here," Mizuha explained.

Izuku's eyes hardened and he nodded. His problem with Kaachan would have to wait. The two walked into the large gymnasium and stood a few feet from each other. A deathly silence washed over them, neither opting to make a sound. Izuku was vaguely aware of the sound of his beating heart, but he quickly brushed the feeling away.

"Your test is a simple one. All you have to do is tag me," Mizuha finally said, his voice projecting across the whole room.

Izuku nearly face faulted at the declaration. Tag him? That's it? The greenet shook his head. No, even if the premise was simply, his sensei was a former pro, he may be old too, but his physique still looked well in shape.

"You have 10 minutes. Anything is fair game. The metrics for your failure involves you not tagging me in your allocated time, or being incapacitated and unable to continue. We will start when the bell rings? Any questions?"

Izuku shook his head no and fell into a combative stance.

"Good, begin," his mentor said just as the bell rang.

Izuku dashed forward his hand in front of him in hopes of catching his teacher off guard. The man sidestepped at the last moment, tossing Izuku over his foot.

The teen crashed to the ground but quickly rolled out of the impact and was already running towards his sensei again. And again, he was evaded at the last second and sent falling to the ground.

"People say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, Izuku," His sensei lectured.

Izuku gritted his teeth, he wisely chose against blindly charging. It was a one-time chance anyways. And since it was fruitless, he supposed he should spend a bit of time strategizing.

Who was he kidding. What kind of strategy would help him with tagging his teacher. This test did not have a single way of involving his quirk! What other option did he have but to mindlessly charge his teacher?! It's not like he could simply ask one of the workers to bring up a bonfire for him.

Wait,

'Anything is fair game.'

Izuku swallowed nervously, he glanced between his teacher to the few people present behind the large window panes. They were there, they were at the computer. He could ask them, couldn't he? But if he was wrong, what was stopping his sensei from failing him on the spot?

He stared back at his teacher, the man remained standing with his arms crossed. He only went so far as to sidestep and toss, then he'd always go back to his starting spot. He wasn't on the offensive. He also had access to his quirk, although the room was indoors, and in what was a rather cold April morning, there was still moisture in the air.

Essentially ,it meant his sensei wasn't even trying, he didn't need to use his quirk. Izuku couldn't picture himself even managing to force his sensei into using Water Soaker. And on the off chance he did, he surely wouldn't stand a chance at tagging him.

The final nail in the coffin was the fact that the whole premise behind this test was to impress his sensei on the improvements of his quirk usage. How would he manage that if he didn't even have a medium to use it?

On that note, Izuku turned from his teacher and faced the attendants, waving his hand to gather their attention, "Hey! I'd like you to activate the bonfire please!"

The attendants shared a look before grinning and obliging, much to Izuku relief. The ground hissed open, and a roaring flame soon emerged.

"You always were an attentive student," Mizuha commented, dropping his arms to his side.

"Thank-you!" Izuku shouted, both to the attendants and his teacher.

He opened his mouth wide and sucked in a breath, the fire spiraled like a noodle as it entered.

Izuku stopped after a few seconds and dashed towards his sensei again, his eyes glowing a faint red. Mizuha grinned at the boy and started focusing his own quirk, water started accumulating at his palms.

"You are at a disadvantage here Izuku, show me what you can do," The man said.

Mizuha tossed a sphere of water at the advancing greenet. Izuku rolled under the attack and used his forward momentum to lunge forward, mouth opening wide and fire roaring.

He unleashed a torrent of flames point blank, only for it to be met by an audible hiss and blinding steam.

Izuku anticipated his teacher would bring up a barrier of some kind, and the resulting steam that would come from it. He landed nimbly, and took a step back from out of the heated vapor.

Unable to see his teacher, he decided to shot a few pot shots into the steam, the flames ripped through the cover, pushing it aside until it eventually dissipated. To Izuku's surprise, his teacher was no where in sight.

Which frankly, only meant one thing. Izuku leaped into the air and did a complete 180, much to his expected surprise, his teacher was standing there, forming what looked like an needlessly large sphere of water.

It was still growing as Izuku fired another flamethrower at his teacher. Izuku watched in awe as the massive water ball slowly shifted between the flamethrower and Mizuka, producing even more steam as a result. The flames licked harmlessly against the gigantic ball before dying out.

Izuku backtracked to the bonfire and proceeded to devour the rest of the flames, recharging to max capacity. He turned to face his teacher again only to have his eyes freeze on the ball.

It was huge! Enormous! Massive! Holy crap what was he supposed to do?

Nothing would be able to penetrate that!

Izuku fired a shot, trying to use his control over it to bend it around the watery dome. The slow-moving sphere did manage to intercept the attack, much to the aspiring hero's disappointment. However, he did notice that the water sphere was in fact, far too cumbersome.

Izuku started to smile, a plan forming. His sensei wanted to be impressed, so impressive he shall be.

The ball of water was massive, most likely took a lot of concentration and most importantly was slow moving. On that note, Izuku dashed towards his sensei again. The man in response, tilted his head confusingly.

It seemed Izuku was just going to use another point blank flamethrower again, maybe try to use the cover of the steam to get behind his guard as well as the sphere's in a last ditch attempt to tag him. In that case, Mizuha would simply let the ball crash to the ground and flood the gym, there was only a minute left on the time anyways.

It seemed Izuku would need to take the standard exam after all, he wasn't ready. He showed decent control over his fire, but against a wall he couldn't break, it was Izuku who crumbled first. With a sigh, Mizuha watched as Izuku continued his beeline straight towards his teacher. He really was going to try to punch through the massive water sphere before him.

Moonsoon, that was the name of his attack back in his heroing days. He simply drew a large amount of the moisture in the air and created a sphere, he'd normally trap his enemies and him inside them, using his supportive gear to breathe in the water, it was essentially his patented super move.

He wasn't lying when he said he wanted to be impressed, and only perfection would truly achieve that. Izuku had talent, that wasn't something Mizuha would deny. But, UA was the toughest hero high school to get into, their recommendation exam, eclipsed their standard entrance exam in difficulty. Mizuha could only recommend one more student too. He personally knew the headmaster, and as such was given the offer to recommend a pupil years ago.

He was preserving it for the ideal candidate, a pupil who would become a true icon for heroes and civilians alike to be attracted to. Perhaps he was being overly idealistic, or far too critically selective. But, it was something he would stubbornly stand by. That was why Mizuha decided on making this test difficult for Izuku.

He knew the boy had potential, he needed to push him to the next step. At least, that was the plan. Mizuha disappointingly brought the sphere of water in between the torrent of flames his pupil fired at him.

Steam exploded from the impact and spread out to quickly consume Mizuha and his vision. He couldn't see Izuku, but he could hear the hasten footsteps clap against the ground.

He was about to drop his sphere when the sound of running stopped, Mizuha tilted his head, trying to pick up on his pupil's whereabouts.

"Istanbul Inferno!" He heard his pupil shout.

Mizuha snapped to the direction of the voice. He already felt the heat licking at his skin before he dove into his own sphere for protection. He snapped his eyes shut, not wanting to agitate them as he entered his watery dome.

The force behind whatever it was Izuku threw at him, ruptured through the sphere, causing it to pop like a water balloon. Mizuha and the crumbling waterfall crashed to the floor and he was swept away by the waves. He tumbled through the water until it finally exited via some of the gym's drains. Mizuha was unceremoniously left on the ground, sprawled on his back.

He groaned as his back severely protested the sudden thrashing. He blearily blinked his eyes open and made out a silhouette outstretching a hand for him to take. A massive grin formed on his face as focus came back to his eyes. He took the hand with little resistance.

4 seconds left too.

* * *

Katsuki sat at his desk, a bored expression on his face. He held his head in his palm as he watched his 3rd year teacher take a stack of papers to the front of the classroom. More than likely future career forms, not that he cared too much about it.

It was already clear where he was planning on going, UA would be his only option, anything else wouldn't be good enough. He ignored what the teacher had to say but was rather amused when the teacher tossed the papers up into the air like confetti.

"Yes you all have wonderful quirks, but remember not to use them in class, it's against the rules," The teacher quickly lectured as his entire class quickly fell into immense chaos.

Quirks of all shapes, forms and kinds were being used. Emitter quirks, transformation quirks, a wide array of powers, from inflamed hands, to rocky hair, to swelling up and even telekinesis.

Trash. Every single one of them. None even held a candle to him. Well, none but one.

Katsuki leaned back in his chair, resting his legs on his desk. He titled his head to the side and gazed at Deku's spot. Katsuki had to bite back his growing frustration at seeing the desk vacant.

That's right. Today was the recommendation Exam for UA. Something Katsuki didn't even know was a goddamn thing until the idiot Deku decided to use it as some stupid way of one-upping him in an argument.

Speaking of argument, that even pissed him off more. Nothing dumber than hearing someone speak so stupidly about heroism. It made his blood boil just thinking about it. And yet, it was him, it was Deku who got the recommendation and not him.

He was supposed to be number one! He'd come to terms that Deku would always be close behind, nipping at his heels, scavenging for scraps, but now? The tables turned. Deku might have a chance of entering UA before him. The last Aldera High graduate to enter UA has been so damn long ago, Katsuki was confident he'd be the superior of the two.

He was fully expecting the green-haired idiot to take the entrance exam and pass it. However, he was also fully expecting to crush said green haired idiot in the practical exam. So much for that, it wasn't even going to be a possibility because Deku decided to pull a fast one. The fucking coward.

So there he sat, festering in his own rage for the rest of the school day. Katsuki would have remained sitting in his desk for who knows how many more hours if it wasn't for his teacher who kindly asked him to leave.

Snapping from his heated fervor, Katsuki scanned his empty room, seemed his fellow peers left a long time ago already. Clicking his tongue, Katsuki went to his locker, gathered his things and stomped out of the school.

Izuku's recommendation exam was really driving Katsuki up the wall. They haven't spoken since their argument, not that he was particularly worried about that. It bothered him to be lied to. Cowards lie, weaklings lie. Izuku wasn't weak, he couldn't be if he was labeled as Katsuki's equal after all. So the fact he lied insulted the explosive teen greatly.

Katsuki paused, the sound of something wet and slimy slowly growing louder and louder. His eyes flickered downwards, and he saw the shadow of something growing bigger, ominously behind him.

"Your body will do…" He heard it hiss, it's voice sounded obscured, as if it had mucus stuck in the back of it's throat.

Katsuki sneered, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "As will yours, how'd you know I needed a fucking punching bag right now?"

Before the question could be pondered, the villain was quickly blinded by a bag being tossed at his face. Being a liquid, dodging the lazy attack was made almost unbearably easy, the villain ducked under the bag and watched it fall to the ground harmlessly.

"Hey, hey, did you actually think that's going to work?" The villain asked, turning to face the blond teen.

It's eyes widen in utter shock as it watched the blond's hands zero in on it's face.

"DIE!" Katuski shouted, erupting his hands, the blow back sent him a few feet into the tunnel, he landed with a skid before standing upright again.

The villain on the other hand was quite literally scattered, on the walls, on the ground, ceiling, outside of the tunnel, on the vegetation, and sign. It looked like someone stuck dynamite inside Jell-O and blew it up.

_Shit, did I actually kill him?_ Katsuki thought, wincing at the damage of his attack.

His worries were placated as he saw the green sludge slowly start to form again. Katsuki grinned madly, he was all for another round, he'd even go all out knowing it could take it. He took a step forward only to freeze as the manhole a few feet in front of him flew up. A large bulky man came flying out of the sewer and landed, with what looked like groceries in one hand.

"I got you now wretched vil-" The man stopped mid-sentence, staring at the small sludge slowly reconstructing itself.

There was a single eye on the sludge, and it went wide at the sight of the massive man. Katsuki did too now that he had a better look at the man. It was All Might, the greatest super hero in the entire world. His track record was flawless, he was the sole reason why crime dropped!

Katsuki wouldn't deny that Izuku knew more about All Might than him, but that wasn't to say he was a slouch in his All Might trivia himself. The blond teen walked around the manhole and zeroed in on the hero.

Said hero was emptying the contents of one of his pop bottle and quickly plopped the slime villain inside. After that was taken care of, the hero spun on his heels and turned to the advancing teen with a booming smile on his face.

"Hello civilian! I take it you were the one who apprehended this villain?" All Might asked.

Katsuki was drawn back by the sheer volume and presence the hero seemed to demand, but decided to nod his head in response, "He attacked me, quirk usage under the terms of self-defense against villainy is allowed so long I take responsibility for collateral damages," Katsuki droned out, reciting some of the information that would prove prudent for the entrance exam.

"Correct you are! I'm glad to see you are well and safe."

Katsuki shrugged at that remark. Despite meeting his idol, Katsuki wouldn't go so far as to grovel or show his admiration. It would have been pathetic and looking pathetic in front of All Might was the last thing he wanted to do.

All Might sensing a lull and also being aware of his time limit dwindling, decided to clear his throat and draw the blond teen's attention back to him, "Well young man, I should deliver this guy to the authorities, please remain safe on your way home!"

Katsuki nodded but otherwise remained quiet. He was going to head home when his mind wandered back to Deku, and everything else that came with it. Most importantly however, was the argument. The stupid argument. Katsuki bit down on his tongue, his anger spiking at the mention of it.

Then, as if the epiphany of life shone on him, the blond turned back to face All Might, the man was in the process of warming up, doing some quick squats, almost as if he was getting ready to lift off.

Deciding not to squander the opportunity, and ultimately find out which of the two was right, he walked up to the prolific hero.

"Hey All Might, before you leave, I got a question," Katsuki started, pocketing his hands in a gesture to appear uninterested.

It couldn't be the furthest of the truth.

"Hmm? Very well, I have time for a single question. What troubles you my boy?"

Katsuki was caught off guard by how easily All Might agreed to his demands, but brushed it aside to push through with his question. He wasn't sure how he wanted to word it, so instead decided to simply go with his gut.

"Listen, my…. Uh, my friend," Bakugo paused, as if testing how the word sounded from his mouth before continuing, "my friend and I had a disagreement about you a month ago."

This caught the hero's attention as his thick eyebrows rose up in piqued interest and confusion.

"He sees you as a hero who rescues others, one who put's civilians first, one who's reactive, one who is fine with losing!" Katsuki said, his agitation bleeding through in tone.

Unbeknownst to him, All Might was fully attentive now, subconsciously agreeing with some of the things said.

"I… I on the other hand refuse to believe that. You've never lost against anyone. Your track record is impeccable. It's insulting to think you could give up, could be defeated. You don't put civilians first because it's unnecessary. You defeat all threats before they can amount to anything. You don't need to save people if there isn't anything to save them from."

"I see the two of you put some thought into this,"All Might remarked uneasily.

_Just what kinds of conversations are the younger generation having about me?_ All Might screamed internally.

Katuski continued, hardly heeding the hero's comment, "With that said, you are the ideal hero, others should emulate you. Dek- my friend and I have been having this argument for some time now, so answer me: Who's right? What makes a hero?"

"Haha… uh, that's quite the question you have there," All Might stalled in between a cough.

He absently whipped his mouth with his balled fist and was shocked when he saw blood smeared against the back of his hand.

_Shit! I spent too much time listening to his question!_ All Might realized.

"Listen…" All Might faltered, he didn't even know the kid's name!

"Bakugo Kastsuki," The blond supplied in a drawl.

"Right, young Bakugo, I see you've put some thought into this question, and I'd love to answer it, truthfully, I do. But, time is everything in the hero world, and I unfortunately spent too much time here. Your question is remarkably well thought, but there should be some hero forums that dabbled with hero philosophy before. I'm sure you would receive a better response from them than me, YES, that's it, haha! Well, stay safe and good bye!" The hero rambled.

Katsuki was caught flatfooted by the word vomit. It reminded him of Deku, which ultimately snapped him from his stunned silence, shaking his head. Katsuki lunged forward just as the hero launched into the air.

"The hell do you think you're doing! I asked you the question because I wanted your answer, not some stinkin' extra's blog!" Katsuki shouted over the ripping winds.

His words may have carried more weight behind them if his eyes weren't watering from the speed and his gums weren't flapping against the wind. It didn't help that he was holding onto the hero's neck like it was a lifeline.

"Please release me, such enthusiasm is a bit much!"

"Not until you answer me! Also stop flailing! You'll drop the villain… or me," Katsuki responded heatedly, and then murmured the rest as an afterthought.

"Fair enough," The hero conceded.

He chose a rooftop and landed there with little fanfare. The sudden inertia sent Katsuki sailing off of All Might. The blond quickly aligned himself in the air and blasted an explosion to counteract the momentum. He landed deftly onto the ground and was seething as he marched towards the steaming hero.

Inspiration or not, it didn't matter to him. He was going to be the best, and as such he deserved the best! Why in the hell would All Might listen to his question if he was only going to leave! This answer meant a lot to Katsuki, his whole entire school of thought was on the line here damn it!

"Alright, All Might, just wha- huh?" Katsuki paused, his face losing all emotion as the steam dissipated and a frail looking noodle of a human was standing where the greatest hero of all time was just a second ago.

"What the fuck? Who the hell are you?" Katsuki asked confusingly.

"All Might," The frail man responded, blood cascading from his mouth in doing so.

"The HELL YOU ARE!" Katsuki shouted out in protest, pointing accusingly at the man.

"You know how people hold in their gut at the pool? It's like that," the man explained.

"What the fuck…" the blond repeated, his brain shutting off and going into auto-pilot.

"A hero with an impeccable track record, right?" The man said, slowly sitting onto the ground.

"What the fuck…"

All Might lifted his shirt, and revealed a gruesome scar, his torso appeared as if it were shattered and glued together, cracks spiraled around an impact near the upper left pectoral. Katsuki hardly reacted to the reveal, his eyes widening only marginally.

"Five years ago a villain did this to me. My respiratory system was nearly destroyed, my stomach too. The aftereffects of those surgeries left me with only 3 hours a day for hero work."

That on the other hand did warrant a significant reaction from the blond, his eyes widening like saucers. The greatest hero in the world, only could be one for 3 hours a day? He wanted to surpass All Might, but it sounded like the hero wouldn't even be active by the time Katsuki had the chance.

"Obviously, I need you to remain quiet about this, don't write about it on the internet, got it?" The man continued, Katsuki nodded in response.

"Look, what you said holds merit, as a symbol of peace, I can't afford to lose. However, defeating the villain isn't always going to be a win."

No. That's not what he wanted to hear, that's not what he wanted to hear at all. That sounded like he was siding with Deku. Katsuki bit down on his tongue until he tasted metal. He clenched his fists until they were ghostly white.

"Sometimes, the only way to defeat the villain is by prioritizing them the least."

No. No. No. But, if All Might was saying it, how the hell was Katsuki suppose to deny that? He's his idol, he's the pinnacle hero, he's heroism personified. And yet, he was shrivelled and broken!

"I can respect your admiration, your passion, I can respect your ideals, but do not solely focus on one aspect about me, as I am only successful because I am both. I save as many civilians as I can and defeat as many villains as I can. But, to answer your question, what I consider makes a hero? Altruism, a self-sacrificing spirit," All Might concluded.

Katsuki's school of thought was on the line. As such, his school of thought was shattered and forever destroyed.

* * *

The blond entered the diner absently. His movements felt sluggish, he was painfully aware of that fact, but lethargically continued trudging along. He certainly wasn't expecting to be wrong. That, now that caught him by surprise.

"Oh, hello Bakugo, Midoriya's already seated by the window," One of the waitresses said.

He perked at that, turning to face the red headed waitress. He was about to bark out a crude remark before recalling that the waitresses likely didn't know Deku and him weren't seeing eye-to-eye. Still, it was suspicious for Deku to roll up to the diner by himself.

The only time they ever went to the diner was to hang out or study. It was a comfortable hang out spot for the both of them, and thus doubled as a bit of a safe haven, a place where one can chill and reset. Deku didn't have a reason to do either, he took his recommendation exam today after all, he should feel on top of the world.

Begrudgingly, Bakugo made his way to the table, there, he saw Deku mindlessly poking at a straw as he stared out the window. The greenet looked far more lethargic than him, which, was just borderline ridiculous.

"Oi, Deku, what the hell are you doing here?" Bakugo called out, snapping the greenet out of his trance.

"K-Kaachan? W-what are you doing here?" Deku responded, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I asked first dumbass," the blond answered, taking a seat across from his friend.

"Oh, uh… well, you know, it's just comfortable here," Deku responded vaguely.

Katsuki did know, it's why he was here to begin with. What he didn't know was why was Deku here?

"Right… tell me, the hell you need comfort for?"

"oh, uh… well, I failed the recommendation exam," Deku responded, a nervous smile on his face.

"What the fuck?" Katsuki droned out, his brain once again going into auto pilot.

* * *

**AN: First, I just want to say that I used line breaks here predominantly as minor time skips without explicitly stating as such. If it's confusing. Let me know! On a side note, yep, Katsuki finds out about All Might. As for, will he get One for All? No. he will not, my goal isn't to have Katsuki role swap with Izuku. It might look like that now and possibly in the future, but I assure you it isn't the case.**

**I guess that's all. For some reason, I feel especially nervous about this chapter. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoyed! **


	5. Trial by Fire

"You failed, the recommendation exam?" Katsuki repeated, the foreign concept sounding strange on his tongue.

"Repeating it isn't going to make it any less true," Deku said, sighing as he slinked further down his booth.

Katsuki blinked out of his stupid stupor, and slowly narrowed his eyes, a frown spreading across his face. Deku failed and yet, he didn't feel relieved by hearing that. It actually grated at his nerves in all honesty.

"You giving up then? Is that why you're throwing yourself this pathetic pity party?" Katsuki asked.

Why, he wasn't sure, but ever since talking with All Might, and internalizing the impact the conversation had on him. A lot of the bitterness and disdain he felt for Deku felt so… trivial in comparison.

That's not to say Katsuki forgave him. He was still pissed at his friend for keeping him out of the loop. But beyond that, the main driving force behind his anger was unwarranted. He wouldn't apologize, that was certain, but he wasn't going to begrudge Deku for something even All Might agreed with. It was stupid, and Katsuki Bakugo was not a stupid person.

"Wha- no, Of course not!"

"Really dipshit? Then explain why you're here instead of the facility," Katsuki countered.

Seeing how his friend recoiled at the accusation and slump further down agitated Katsuki, at least deny it if you were going to feign that you were okay damnit!

"Tch. Fine, tell me about the exam," the explosive teen finally said, slumping against his booth in resignation.

"Huh? Oh, I don't really want to-"

"How the hell do you plan to improve if you don't reflect on it, idiot!" Bakugo shouted, jumping from his seat.

He almost subconsciously made his way onto the table, but after past incidents involving such conduct, Katsuki eventually learned the diner wouldn't care whether he was a prodigy or not, damaging the furniture was not accepted. Much to his own expense, literally.

"I just…." Deku sighed, then his eyes narrowed into a determined frown, "I'll start from the top."

* * *

_Earlier that day… _

Izuku was a bundle of nervous excitement, standing before him was his dream school, the school that would propel his career as a hero forward. A lot was at stake, and as such, he found himself adequately shaking with jitters.

He noticed several students made their way towards the front, all standing with confidence. It made Izuku's contrast all the more prominent. He took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks. He needed to calm down.

Although little was mentioned about the recommendation exam, the letter Izuku received did at the minimum disclose that the exam would consist of three parts, the written, practical and an interview in that respective order.

The fact the order was specified at all drew Izuku's attention. After his mock test with his sensei, he wanted to remain attentive of the exam criteria. There may be more to it then what was initially revealed.

Izuku absently made his way into the building while pondering the intricacies of the recommendation exam. He followed the flood of hopeful applicants as if on auto-pilot. Eventually, out of his peripheral he noticed the wave of students stagnating in front of massive double doors.

Izuku didn't recall how long he stood there waiting with the other applicants, but he did start to feel a bit stir-crazy. Only when the doors slowly opened, did he sigh in relief. He along with everyone else was ushered into the large auditorium like sheep.

The greenet fetched into his pocket and grabbed his letter, reading it over. Beyond given cryptic and arguably vague instructions, the letter did tell him his seat number, #189. He spent some time finding his seat, which as it turned out, was near the front.

On closer inspection, everyone's seats were near the front. The lecture hall was enormous, scaling upwards in an acclivity. Despite that, all of the applicants were shoved near the bottom. The room was hardly an eighth used.

Izuku didn't have time to ponder as to why, as he heard what sounded like someone clearing their throat by the front of the room. There, stood on the podium was a small creature, one that the greenet immediately identified as the school's principal.

The principal, also known as Nezu wore a small suit and held a microphone in his paw.

"Hello, applicants, as you all probably know, I am Nezu, the principal of this school. I will be personally overseeing the written portion of this exam. But, before we move onto that, allow me to clarify some of the confusion our instructions may have caused," the principal said.

Izuku found himself enraptured by the figure, and before he even realized it, had his fingers interlocked and placed before his mouth in deep concentration. He suspected something, if only due to his tendency to overthink.

Regardless, Nezu continued after the murmuring died down, "There are 200 first-year applicants here today, but after this written portion is complete, only 40 of you will participate in the practical."

The room erupted into frantic protest, Nezu weathered the outbursts with practice ease, a tranquil smile plastered over his small face, his beady eyes crinkling in feigned affection. Izuku's eyebrows rose at the sudden announcement.

Could that be why the order of the portions were specified in the letter? Felt like too much a leap of logic to take, it made sense now, but that was the beauty of hindsight bias, anything made sense once the outcome was clear. No, no matter what he thought, there really wasn't any way he could have predicted this. The room's volume fizzled out into a silence as Nezu raised a hand.

"Now, now students, allow me to explain," Nezu paused in favour of pacing across the podium surface in a painstakingly slow manner.

"The criteria for this exam are speed and obviously, overall correctness. The faster you submit your exam, the higher chance you have of advancing to our practical. That being said, just rushing through it will likely lead to failure. The 40 fastest exams with the highest marks will advance to the practical."

As the principal finished, the doors slammed open, and out came a line of small drones. They each carried stacks of bagged booklets. The little robots wheeled their way down towards the entrance and lined up besides the rows of students. They all systematically handed the booklets to the first applicant and had them pass one along. The procedure didn't take any longer than a minute. Before Izuku, was a translucent zip log bag, with a booklet inside.

"In those bags, is your exam, as well as a pencil to use, you are to open that bag when assigned. Doing so out of turn will count as an immediate failure," Nezu warned amicably.

* * *

"Hold up, the hell do you mean by only 40 can pass?" Katsuki asked, shoving his milkshake to the side.

"Exactly as it sounds, Only the top 40 exams got to take the practical," Izuku explained.

"So you're telling me your nerd ass failed a written exam?" Katsuki asked skeptically.

"No, I actually managed to finish 11th. I also ended up having a perfect score, which basically meant I was guaranteed a spot."

"I see…" The blond remained quiet and watched as the greenet munched on a few fries.

After several more seconds, Katsuki's temper flared as he slammed his open palms onto the table, "quit stalling and finish the damn story!"

The abruptness caused Izuku to choke on his fry, to which he started coughing and frantically punching his chest, "R-right, my bad."

* * *

The layout of the exam seemed simple enough to Izuku. The principal justified as to why so many of the applicants would be cut just in the written portion of the exam. The ability to think fast on the spot and to remain cool under pressure were core necessities for any hero. Izuku suspected as more people handed in their exams, the more students would panic, and subsequently the more mistakes would be made.

The test was a bit difficult, but he was confident in his answers. Admittedly, Izuku wasted a lot of precious time double and triple checking his answers, but given the stakes, he felt it was well warranted. In doing so, he did allow some applicants to submit their exams before him.

The one that garnered the most attention was a tall girl with a spiky ponytail. She finished handsomely in first. It was so jarring how abrupt and quickly she finished that when she was walking down towards the principal, Izuku couldn't help but stare in awe. She finished in 15 minutes, at the most.

In perspective, he finished in 30, which was still early given their maximum time of 1:30 hours. Still, it was through watching the girl go to the podium, that he learned that principal Nezu was marking the exams as they arrived.

It was as if the exams were scrutinized under strict filters. Time of completion was the main factor. However, correctness of the overall test held predominance. For example, a test that finished in 10 minutes, but had a 99% would still fall behind a test completed in the hour half that had 100%. Only the first 40 exams passed too.

It was why Izuku felt it necessary to triple check his responses. After psyching himself up, he went to the front of the room, walked onto the stage and delivered his paper to the principal.

Izuku watched with wide eyes as Nezu skimmed through the exam at a ridiculous pace. The teen was left completely overwhelmed, his eyes spinning just to keep up when finally, the principal cleared his throat.

"Well done, a perfect score! Please head to the cafeteria and await further instructions."

"T-thank-you sir, principal sir, thank-you," Izuku blurted out, robotically bowing multiple times.

The aspiring hero didn't recall much of what happened afterwards, but he somehow ended up in the cafeteria with the other applicants. The ones that were guaranteed to pass. Despite being in the cafeteria of arguably the best chef in the country, Izuku couldn't really coax his appetite into eating anything, and instead chose to sit at a corner of the room.

His waiting didn't take long. Eventually, everyone who was sent to the cafe were filed out. They were ushered by some of the UA staff, Izuku recognized them instantly, Present Mic, Snipe, Midnight, a large variety of heroes who also doubled as teachers in UA. It took practically every ounce of his mental fortitude to not break out into severe mumbling. He wished he had his notebook on him.

The forty applicants were lined up outside, in front of several busses. There, each one was called up individually, to which they were given a number to wear and placed into a bus. The number assigned to the applicants ended up being the very same they had as their seating arrangement, thus making Izuku's 189.

The procedure of getting each applicant into their respective bus was a short process, and before long, they were sent towards a training ground to perform their practical. Izuku sat near the back of the bus, choosing to isolate himself from others in the off chance he dissolves into fervours murmuring.

The ride didn't take more than a dozen minutes. The forty applicants disembarked their buses and lined up before a massive training ground, to put it simply. Izuku was stunned into silence as his gaze fell upon the site. Large mountain like hills, trees, a cavern with cascading waterfalls, even an amusement ride. Heck, in the distance, there even appeared to be something similar to a caste. It was almost as if whoever designed the training ground couldn't decide what they wanted to put in it and simply compromised for everything.

The aspiring hero didn't quite know what to make of the site, becoming overwhelmed by the sheer quantity presented before him. One thing, however, became prominent. A track ran across the whole area. Bright yellow arrows were systematically sprinkled everywhere, leading from one end to the other.

Before Izuku could articulate any questions or concerns, Present Mic went into detail regarding the race track. Groups of 6, use of quirks a necessity, and finally, the ultimate kicker, only the top 10 fastest times would move on to the final segment, interviews.

Given the surprise from the written exam, Izuku wasn't fazed by the announcement. And by the sound of things, or lack thereof, neither were the remaining applicants. Present Mic comically pouted at the lack of reaction, but quickly grinned as he called the first 6 numbers.

The applicants lined up before a white line, all in their respective track suits, and all looking rather composed given the circumstances. Izuku knew he definitely wouldn't want to go first. Especially given how apparently the other applicants didn't need to leave for the duration of the race.

Didn't that mean the remainder would have an unfair advantage, seeing how the course played out?

"Excuse me, sir, shouldn't we, the applicants that aren't participating at the moment leave until called upon?" An applicant asked.

Yeah, that was exactly what Izuku was thinking, turning to face the student, he quickly realized it was the girl from the written exam, the one who finished first by a landslide.

"No need, the course is simple enough, we save time this way too," Present Mic assured easily, he shifted his focus onto the lined applicants, "you guys ready?"

In response, the students shifted into their respective running stances.

"GOOOO!" Present Mic shouted, his quirk magnifying the volume of his voice.

And with that, the students launched down the course. Izuku watched in bafflement as one applicant conjured a gust of wind to fly from, much like how Kaachan used explosions to maneuver while another produced a sheen of ice to surf on. They practically blazed through the course, leaving behind their competition.

"Okay, can numbers 3, 17, 90, 38, 13 and 189 line up," the teacher said, naming off numbers from his clipboard.

Izuku stilled and looked down onto his chest despite fully knowing his number was called. Seeing the 189, Izuku sighed and made his way up to the line. He examined his competitors as he dragged himself forward, beyond the ponytail girl, he didn't recognize any of them.

She really made a lasting impression, Izuku wasn't an academic slouch, the fact she completed the exam so quickly spoke volumes of her intellect. She'd probably be a fearsome opponent.

"Hello there," someone greeted, snapping Izuku from his internal thoughts,

He peeled his eyes off the ponytail girl and turned to face a blond. The boy had piercing blue eyes and a confident smile on his face, he had his hand outstretched as he waited for a response.

"Uh, hi?" Izuku answered, cringing afterwards at how easily he allowed his confusion to show.

"Pardon my suddenness, Monoma Neito, pleasure to meet you," The blond explained, his hand remaining in place, shaking it slightly as if to garner attention.

Then it clicked, Izuku wanted to palm his face in embarrassment, instead he went in for the handshake, "Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet you too."

The blond sighed in relief, much to Izuku's confusion. And he thought he was awkward.

"Okay, ready up applicants," Present Mic reminded.

The greenet fell into a runner's stance. He took the opportunity to quickly look over his fellow competitors. He wished he didn't, the pony tail girl from before, was striping! Right then and there, she just unzipped her track jacket and peeled it off, revealing a skin tight tanktop. Of which she was lifting up to expose her smooth lithe stomach. Even then, that was hardly the most prominent feature. Or features in this instance. Holy shit, he wasn't ready for it at all!

She was just a middle schooler, wasn't she? She was, right? Izuku found his face engulfed in heat, from his ears to down his neck. He snapped his eyes from her to directly in front of him.

Her quirk, had to be for her quirk. He'd refuse to believe it was for anything else. She probably had a plant related quirk, photosynthesis? Yep, something like that. He wasn't going to look back. No way, no sir.

Izuku slapped his cheeks, trying to regain a semblance of composure. His face was as red as a tomato, and felt as hot as his flames.

"GOOOO!"

Izuku initially stumbled, caught completely flat footed. But, seeing the other applicants take off before him, his gaze hardened. He didn't have the time to act childish. Pretty or not, he had a goal to achieve.

So he was going to achieve it.

* * *

Katsuki snorted, "Right, as if nerd. You probably had tits on your mind the whole time."

"K-K-K-Kaachan!" Izuku spluttered, his face going red just at the thought.

"That's fucking hilarious, you failed the exam because of boobs," Katsuki said, leaning back into the booth.

"That wasn't it! I, I just didn't score a fast time, you know Pyrokinetic Breath doesn't assist me with mobility, and the course had a strong emphasis on speed. There were a lot of obstacles that would have been easy to get by with a form of flight too. Not to ment-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say pervert," Katsuki dismissed easily with a wave of his hand.

"Not so loud!" Izuku hissed, his head on a swivel as he examined the other tables and booths, "and stop slandering me please."

"Slander? Yeah right, sounds like nothing but the cold truth, why else go into vivid detail about 'ponytail girl'?" Katsuki reasoned casually.

Izuku fidgeted under Katsuki's stare but, remained quiet, his eyes distractedly landing on his remaining fries. Much to the blond's exasperation, God damn it, deny it at least! Deny something! Just how attractive was this girl to render Deku of all people like this!?

"H-hey, you s-still haven't answered m-my question y-yet. W-why are you here again?" Izuku stammered through his question, trying to shift focus from him onto the blond.

Katsuki leaned back into the booth and decided to reflect on that himself. He supposed he was upset by All Might's response, and thus wanted to comfort himself at the diner? Sounds about right. As if he'd admit that. Well, perhaps not it's entirety.

Katsuki put on his snidest smirk and crinkled his eyes mischievously. Sitting before him was easily the embodiment and personification of fanboyism. He reverted his face back down to indifference and shrugged.

"Met, All Might and had a talk with him, was nearby so figured I'd get a bite to eat," the blond responded impassively.

As if meeting his Idol, or Deku's for that matter was hardly something to react over. Speaking of reactions, Katsuki paused, and waited for Deku's. After a few seconds of silence, Katsuki hazarded a glance and saw the greenet frozen in place, mouth gaping like a fish, the colour of his face draining. Not from fear or anger, but most likely out of lack of air. He wasn't breathing.

"The hell's wrong with you?" He asked a bit exasperatedly.

Then, am indescribable banshee shriek pierced through the diner. It felt oddly out of place coming from Izuku, especially given his face had remained perfectly still, his mouth agape and eyes wide in alert.

That reaction was better than expected, Katsuki quickly snapped a shot and cackled madly as the greenet struggled to compose himself. He struggled to do much of anything but remain a babbling idiot. They spent several more hours talking about All Might due to this.

Katsuki found himself feeling better after the experience.

* * *

After retelling his account on the exam, Izuku explained that despite failing, he was still given the opportunity to take the standard exam later on in the year. However, despite passing the written recommendation exam, he still would need to pass the standard one. And, it went without saying, but, he wasn't going to receive any sort of favoritism just because he took the recommendation exam.

All points made sense to Izuku, he couldn't fault them. He wouldn't have wanted favoritism anyways. He failed, so he would need to improve himself. It was as simple as that. Kaachan on the other hand, found the news very pleasing, as he saw it as a perfect chance to test himself against Izuku.

Ultimately, the two decided to wager lunch on whoever managed to do better over the other. A small bet, but both of them were fighting more for the sake of pride than anything else.

On a side note, it had been several weeks since Ashido or Kirishima messaged the group chat. Izuku didn't notice it at first, given his priorities were focused on the recommendation exam. But with that done, and the silence prolonging, Izuku was wondering just what exactly was going on with his fellow aspiring heroes?

Naturally he asked, and almost as if he received an epiphany, realized that if they weren't responding before, asking realistically wouldn't warrant a response now.

_Ping_

It worked!?

Izuku reached for the phone he just finished tossing, scrambling through his passcode before opening up his messaging app.

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Sorry :'( something came up! All taken care of now :D**

**R3dR!0t: Totally unmanly to leave ya in the dark like that. My bad midoriya**

_Huh, they responded at the same time_, Izuku thought absently, before he started to quickly tap his thumbs against the screen.

**Midoriya_9: No worries, I was just curious. You don't need to tell me if it's personal. **

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Dont think its personal, Kiri was just being melodramatic**

**R3dR!0t: Harsh**

**R3dR!0t: But fair, ill tell ya in person midoriya**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: :p**

The greenet was curious but dropped it, metaphorically and literally through the act of tossing his phone onto his bed again. They'd tell him in a few months. This also helped to bolster his own determination. After nearly a year, all three of them were still aiming for UA. It assured him as well as motivated him to strive for his dream school. After all, his peers were aiming for the same thing. With that in mind, Izuku fetched into his desk and grabbed a notebook, _Hero Analysis for the Future No.13_.

From the several conversations prior to their 'radio silence', Izuku was able to piece together where his friends' quirk development stood. Ashido seemed to gain a strong level of control over her acid and their level of acidity. Their viscosity and other liquid elements pertaining to the acid itself. She even managed to get her acid to levitate in the air! Albeit with lots of effort. Regardless, the fact she can control her acid in that manner at all opens up a world of possibilities for her. Izuku was undeniably curious to see what she'd do with her quirk.

Kirishima, although could only harden a little when they first met, could now harden his body from the torso up. He also was apparently incredibly ripped and chiseled. Admittedly, it could have been Ashido simply teasing the sharp toothed teen. But, Izuku was confident it was a truthful remark, no matter how flirtatious the undertones were.

Given the simplicity of the quirk, Izuku was curious to see how Kirishima would expand upon it, or if lacking in that, how to optimize it. Without really having a chance to see either quirks, Izuku didn't feel comfortable coming up with ideas and or adjustments. After all, he'd feel rather pretentious thinking he could come up with plans for quirks he hasn't seen over those who possessed them.

Speaking of quirks he's seen, Kaachan's progress in long distance explosions had improved tremendously. AP Shot and Stun Grenade were added to his growing arsenal of moves, no pun intended.

Given Stun Grenade's utility, Izuku decided that for his next super move, he'd strive to create something similar. He had an idea, but no way of recreating it. As such, he would put that in the back burner for now and instead aimed to gain a stronger control over his flame's trajectory. Controlling where his fire moved was his next step forward, something he was avid on jotting down in his analyses and observations.

Using the facility after the recommendation exam proved to be a very awkward endeavor. If it weren't for Katsuki practically dragging him into Mizuha's office, Izuku wasn't sure he'd ever face his former teacher. It was why it came as a shocking surprise for both teens when the older man laughed off his concerns.

Izuku was still given access to the facility. Much to his wonderment. It was explained to him that the recommendation exam was the toughest in the country, failing it shouldn't have diminished his achievements. It certainly didn't stop him from apologizing though.

"Izuku dear, come down to eat," His mom called.

The greenet turned to the sound, closed his notebook and headed down.

* * *

The two teens jogged side by side on the sidewalk. It was a cold evening, with the sun fading in the distance, bleeding the sky into a collage of reds and oranges. They ran down a familiar route, and eventually deviated from the sidewalk to go onto a small park. A small, familiar park.

"Kaachan, let's stop here," Izuku said as he started to steady his breathing.

"The hell? You getting soft all of a sudden?" Katsuki responded, running a sleeve across his forehead.

"No, nothing like that. Tomorrow's kind of important though, we should probably get a good night's sleep," the greenet supplied, going into some light stretches.

Katsuki shrugged indifferently but indulged his fellow running partner, he started doing some stretches as well. He was not going to risk a pulled or sore muscle before the entrance exams after all.

"Whatever, listen, the bet tomorrow will be whoever scored better on the practical," Katsuki reminded, sitting on the ground, with his legs stretched outwards.

"What about the written?" Izuku asked with a cheeky smile.

"It's weighed less than the practical," Katsuki rejected easily.

"We should probably still find a way to incorporate it."

"The practical is the only thing that matters, anyone can do well on the written if they actually gave a fuck!" the blond exploded.

Izuku raised his hands in surrender, his eyebrows quirked in an exasperated manner, "alright, if you only want to make a bet on half the entrance exam that's fine."

"Deku…" he growled, his stretches long forgotten and his eyes shadowed by his hair.

"I mean, I did tell you about Ashido and Kirishima's bet right?" Izuku continued unfazed by the sudden tension, "theirs is on both the written and practical."

"Shut up! Fine, written is worth a third of the practical. Whatever you get on the exam, divide by 3."

Izuku nodded along with the explanation, sounded fair enough. He was just glad Kaachan would allow the written to be involved at all.

"So what should we do with 33.33? Do we round it down?" Izuku asked seriously.

"Obviously, since when does anyone every round up below .5?" The blond dismissed through gritted teeth.

For a such a timid guy, he sure was confident in himself. He wasn't even cognizant of it either. He didn't see it as arrogance, or showing off. It was just a genuine question by someone who was certain he'd get a perfect on the score. Just as certain as he'd be for, say, seeing garbage on Dagobah Beach or the sun to come up in the morning. Not arrogance, but simply assurance of a fact.

"That's too bad," Izuku paused to stand up from his stretches before continuing, "I think we should head back now."

Katsuki grunted his agreement and stood up himself. He was about to start heading home when he realized that Deku had remained flat footed and starting at him with the same determined gaze he saw all the way back in first year.

"What?" the blond asked crudely.

"Kaachan, jokes aside-"

"what jokes?" The blond interrupted, a deadpan expression washing over his features.

"Jokes aside, I intend to beat you on the practical," Izuku continued smoothly, hardly taking notice of the interruption at all.

"You better fucking try. I'll kill you if you don't get second," the blond responded with a feral smile.

"Second? I jus-"

"First is mine dumbass, not you, not your Chiba friends, not anyone is going to take that from me. I'm going to decimate anyone in my fucking path," Katsuki explained.

Izuku remained silent, finding himself unable to come up with a response. Katsuki took that as his own invitation to leave, and started the trek back home. The greenet watched the blond round the corner and disappear from sight.

Kaachan was tenacious, determined and easily the strongest person Izuku's ever met. Sure, some of the recommendation students could give Kaachan a run for his money, but Izuku was confident the explosive teen would come out on top. Inherit talent, peaked instincts and a genius, that was what Kaachan was. That was what Izuku wished to test himself against.

Tomorrow would be the platform that allowed him to do so.

* * *

**AN: I'm still swamped with assignments, but I needed a distraction! The editing on this one might be lacking. Who knows, not me, haha! **

**Anyways, incorporated text messages into the story. Don't think that it's going to be much of a surprise to anyone. **

**Onto the reviews!**

**valdiusmacto: Thank-you for the kind words! Ya, all of this is opening stuff still. I hope I can keep you interested!**

**The Keeper of Worlds: Put through the wringer there! But he can take it, maybe, hopefully? **

**Avocadokid, beingwithu: Yep, Izuku failed. I thought about it and figured that despite his physical training, his quirk training, it just isn't suited for the kind of practical exam he'd take. He's competing with the best of the best too. I hope I've managed to justify it. For good measure, I splashed some of my own idea for the criteria there, (I think at least, I wouldn't know if it's original or not yet). **

**Speaking of own ideas, Neito's there! What is his fate? We'll see. Uh, I assure you, I think I know what I'm doing. Anyways, until next time! Thank-you so much for the reviews! I love them! Also, in that regard, would you all mind if I respond to reviews? I personally would like to, I love interacting with people. But I know that not everyone shares the sentiment. I'm aware that it can be a bit distracting and get in the way of the story. **

**For the time being, I think I will decide to respond to reviews, I do it with all my other stories. So, until I receive a lot of support against doing so, I'll respond to them!**


	6. The Entrance Exam!

**Happy Easter!**

**Onto the Review Responses: **

**The Keeper of Worlds: A return reviewer, I love you! Ahem, anyways, I'm glad you're liking it. I must confess I have something else planned though. **

**Fk306: Thanks!**

**Onto the chapter:**

* * *

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Midori you up?**

**R3dR!0t: I'm up js**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Ik ur up silly**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Midori wake up**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wake up**

**R3dR!0t: Wake up**

**R3dR!0t: Wake up**

**R3dR!0t: Wake up**

Izuku hopped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel. He went to the sink and started brushing his teeth, only then taking notice of his phone vibrating in a profusely. Peering at it confusedly, the greenet picked up his phone from the counter and examined it.

_34 messages!? What's goi- oh they're spamming me._

**Midoriya_9: Was in the shower, sorry about that. How are you both? Excited? Nervous?**

**R3dR!0t: Pumped up and ready to go!**

**R3dR!0t: Also the spam was ashido, hijacked my phone**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: hehe what can i say :p**

**R3dR!0t: Anyways, reason why ashido was blowing up all our phones was cause she wanted to know where wed meet up**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: yepyep**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: We have to meet up before the exam**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: But we have to meet up after too**

**Midoriya_9: I'm all for hanging out, but don't you have to take the train home? I personally know it's a long trip.**

**R3dR!0t: Nah, we got rooms**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: we got hotel rooms**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: we leave tomorrow**

This was news to him. It made him ponder just how busy the hotel industry could get for UA entrance exams. Thousands apply all across Japan, UA was just that prestigious. Izuku hastily finished changing and rushed downstairs. He fumbled with his phone as he sent a message.

**Midoriya_9: let's meet up at the front gates.**

Receiving affirmations from both parties, he pocketed his phone and made his way towards Katsuki's residence. He rounded the corner just as the blond was making his way outside. The blond was wearing a jacket and scarf, his gaze on the chilly breath dissipating before him.

"Hey," Izuku greeted, waving his hand.

Katsuki's attention snapped onto the greenet for a second before leaving. The blond walked pass Izuku, and towards the station without a response or acknowledgement. Puzzled, Izuku followed after his friend, catching up and matching his stride.

"Uh, hi? Hey? Hello? You aren't wearing any headphones," Izuku observed in a deadpan.

"Shut up! Listen here Deku, today you're an enemy, an opponent, stop talking to me," Katsuki growled, keeping his eyesight focused in front of him.

"Ohhh, sorry."

Katsuki snapped his head towards the greenet with a fierce glare.

"I mean, not sorry," The greenet winced, correcting himself.

"Damn idiot," The blond mumbled under his breath.

"I mean, it is a shame though, I was going to tell you all about this new Katsudon place we'll be going to," Izuku baited.

He noticed the blond stiffen. Katsuki was many things, but someone capable of ignoring others? That, now that was laughable. Anything could bait the guy into interacting with others. It made Izuku think that Kaachan secretly liked talking to others, he just had a roundabout way of expressing it.

Katsuki remained silent, although his eyebrow was twitching. He was just a push away.

"It has amazing servings too! They're a bit pricey, you sure you can cover the both of u-"

"Shut the fuck up! We are going to that fucking Indian restaurant after I win. I'm going to order the most expensive thing and I'm going to force you to order the spiciest thing on their fucking menu!" The blond erupted.

"Pretty sure that's not what we agreed on…" Izuku replied, finding himself deflating.

_Poke the bear, you just had to poke the bear,_ He thought.

"I'll obliterate you by such a wide margin that your nerd ass will have to compensate."

"You're taking this very seriously," Izuku noted.

"No shit Sherlock. How else are we going to find a legitimate way to compete?" Katsuki asked, finally turning to face his peer.

Izuku conceded the point, nodding his head in agreement, "that's true. I'm looking forward to our competition."

The two eventually got off the train. It was at this point that Izuku realized that nearly their entire trip to UA had gone by in a blur. It made him a bit embarrassed, after all, the two of them were talking loudly, and Kaachan's crude remarks can be more than just distracting.

He'd improve on that, eventually.

The two headed towards the gates. Even from where they stood, they could see the massive glass buildings poking out from over the boundary wall. They were walking in a crowded sidewalk, with applicants of all shapes and sizes mechanically making their way through the gates.

Izuku grabbed his phone and started writing out a message.

**Midoriya_9: I'm here. By the front gate, I'm going to go a bit inside, to the left. It's rather crowded.**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Wait up**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: Kiri and i are close**

**PinkAlienDnceQueen: 1min or 2**

"Those the extras?" Katsuki asked, his glance falling onto the greenet's phone.

"My friends, yeah, I'm going to wait up for them," Izuku responded.

Katsuki clicked his tongue, "I'm going on ahead."

"You sure? Why don't you stay to greet them?" Izuku suggested.

"Pass. I couldn't care less about nobodies. If they can get even close to my score, I might consider it," the blond brushed off, as he walked ahead.

He raised his hand and waved lazily as he left the greenet by the entrance. Moments later, his blond friend was engulfed by the sea of applicants. Izuku sighed and slouched, yeah that made sense. Kaachan took years to approve of him, and although Kaachan mellowed out considerably, he still held everyone to his ridiculous standards.

Izuku couldn't fret about it for much longer as two hands clamped down onto his shoulder, prompting the teen to stand ramrod straight. As if that wasn't enough to startle the boy, his assailant leaned into his ear and shouted.

"Heyo!"

"A-Ashido, h-hey!" Izuku squeaked out, his heart still beating rapidly.

Ashido's golden eyes were wide in excitement, and she had plastered on an ear-splitting grin.

"Did ya have to sneak up on him like that? It's pretty unmanly," Kirishima said, walking up to the two of them, "what's up Midoriya?" the teen greeted with a toothy grin of his own.

Ashido turned to pout at the approaching teen, her hands raised in protest, "I don't see why I need to be manly to begin with!"

Izuku followed her gaze to land onto Kirishima. He certainly looked different. Bigger, Ashido wasn't lying when she said he was ripped. He looked incredibly fit. All of that paled in comparison when his gaze landed on Kirishima's face, or more precisely, above it.

"W-w-w-what happened to your hair!?" Izuku shouted flabbergasted, pointing an accusing finger at the boy in question.

Kirishima chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "I just wanted a change, it's about that thing I promised I'd tell you about."

Izuku, still shell shocked by the makeover, had to take some time to recompose himself. Once doing so, he was able to recall that, Kirishima did in fact promise to tell him why they stopped talking to him for a bit.

"I see, we'll you can tell me after the exam," Izuku concluded.

Kirishima nodded in agreement before he said, "It's crazy seeing you again after all this time."

"Yeah, it's been a while, you guys look the same yet different, uh, if that makes sense."

"Don't sweat it, I get what'cha mean."

"It's like a high school debut, isn't it?" Ashido piped up, rotating between index fingers she used to poke Kirishima's cheek.

Izuku quirked an eyebrow, noticing the fiery teen indulge the behaviour with a resigned sigh. After a few seconds he eventually grabbed her hands and peeled them off his face.

"Anyways, I was wondering, where's your friend?" Kirishima eventually asked, after his face was finally free from the poking.

"Yeah! Is he still a mean jerk? Uhm, no offence," Ashido followed up, sticking her hands up in a placating manner in case Izuku did in fact take offence.

He didn't and laughed before answering, first to face Kirishima, "He went on ahead, he's excited for the test," from there he turned to face the pink teen, "He's better, but probably still a jerk."

"hmm, well, we should probably head inside, don't want to be late," Ashido said, grabbing Kirishima's wrist and dragging him along.

Izuku followed suit, finding their antics refreshing. A change of pace, certainly less eruptive than Kaachan, that was for certain.

Speaking of Kaachan, the trio quickly spotted the blond further along the path leading into the front doors. He was seemingly ramrod still as some girl spoke to him, oblivious or uncaring of the scalding glare he had. She eventually tapped him on the shoulder before waving goodbye.

Kaachan didn't return it, but his gaze didn't peel off of the brunette as she left. Izuku couldn't care about any of that, he felt like he just walked in on a miracle.

_Kaachan just talked to a girl?!_ Izuku thought confusedly.

* * *

The written exam was a lot simpler than Izuku anticipated. If the recommendation exam was fair, then the entrance was a free be. He was done well before the allocated time. And since he didn't need to fear being eliminated before the practical, Izuku took plenty of time to go over his work. He aced it, that was without question.

The students were then greeted by Present Mic. Izuku, seeing him in person before, was capable of internalizing his fanboying. He did squeal a bit, especially when the hero went into his regular radio routine. It was a pleasant sight to bare.

Still, the hero didn't receive any responses to his prompts, Izuku had half a mind to shout out. Then again, there were thousands of students cramped into this auditorium, he may have been more confident in himself, but not THAT confident. Probably best not to draw so much attention either.

Also, Kaachan would probably beat the living days out of him out of second-hand embarrassment.

The rules of the practical were explained. They had ten minutes to fight in a city-zone. Three types of robots that gave one, two and three points respectively. They were considered Villain-bots and needed to be destroyed or deactivated. Those who accumulated the most points passed. Fighting against fellow applicants was grounds for instant disqualification.

An applicant shouted out some slander against the school, agitating both Katsuki and Izuku off to varying degrees before Present Mic explained what the arena trap was. Simply put, to be avoided, gave no points, considered an obstacle. Izuku filtered that for later, what was the point of adding an obstacle anyways? The exam felt pretty simple.

After the explanation, the applicants were divided up into multiple battle centers. Izuku received Grounds A, Katsuki received grounds B. They concluded together that people from the same schools would likely be placed in different areas, to eliminate the possibility to cooperate.

Not that either of them would have anyways. This entrance exam was their medium of competition. No way they'd waste it. Izuku couldn't even imagine how easy the exam would be if he worked alongside Kaachan.

Ten minutes? They'd probably wipe out the whole zone in 5.

* * *

Izuku stared wide eyed at the positively massive battle center that he'd be participating in, the giant stone gate and walls rose high into the sky, it encompassed what could have easily passed as multiple neighbourhoods in there, half a town. Initial estimates were way off. Katsuki and him wouldn't be able to clear out all the robots on their own, not even in 10 minutes. The place was enormous!

Izuku shaked his head, he needed to focus on the test. This time, this practical was more to his benefit than an obstacle course. Izuku made sure to stock up on fuel, courtesy of Kaachan.

The explosive blond argued that anything less than Izuku's best would have been a slight to him. Izuku was inclined to agree with him there, even if Kaachan was actually worried for his success, there wasn't a ounce of doubt that his intentions were strictly related to the competition.

Kaachan was just than invested into it.

"Go!' Present Mic shouted, his face appearing on a massive screen.

Izuku didn't waste a moment for the hero's explanation. He dashed out from the crowd of applicants and headed towards the now open and accessible battle center. He heard some applicants finally start to chase after him.

It was a concrete jungle, massive three storey tall buildings, roads, intersections, alleyways. It was a labyrinth. Izuku decided to remain on the main road. More space, and thus it would allow for the bigger robots to remain.

The greenet remained on the main road for a second reason, to centralize his search. Alleyways could have some stragglers, but if Izuku truly wanted to rack up points, he'd need to fight a lot of bots at the same time. Big open roads were the only place that could permit such a thing.

Izuku lamented not having some form of mobility, he knew Kaachan would undoubtedly already be shredding through some of the bots by now.

Izuku finally came upon a group of bots. They looked like 1 pointers. The smaller lean robots caught sight of him and sped towards the greenet. Not wishing to waste time, he shot a massive torrent of flames, blanketing over the bots.

Predictably, they exploded into flames. Izuku grinned, running pass the wreckage with his mouth wide open. He absorbed the lingering flames, finding himself sufficiently replenishing his reserves.

Izuku was aware that he'd have to be more conservative if he wanted to last the ten minutes or find a way to create fire without using any himself.

Given the time constraint, he was leaning towards the former. If he was to be conservative of his fire, he'd have to maximize his efficiency. The greenet went over the three robot types in his head.

The first pointer, small, slick and mobile. They were supposed to be fast and agile, but all of that led to a lack of durability. Hitting them in their singular wheel, or even aiming for the area connecting their abdomen to their torso should result in a fast and easy incapacitation.

The second pointer was a scorpion like robot. Izuku was unsure what gave it an edge, it appeared cumbersome and slow moving. Perhaps the tail held some features? Regardless, aiming for its supportive limbs should render it immobile. It must be more durable than a first pointer too.

Finally, the third pointer was essentially a tank. It had what appeared to be missile launchers. A possible source of fire? Not something Izuku wished to experiment with. It was the biggest, probably the sturdiest and slowest moving. In terms of weak spots, perhaps having the missiles blow up?

Izuku's mumbling thoughts were interrupted as his focus shifted to the road before him. It was littered with robots of all sizes and types. They appeared as if they were idling in that one spot, as if waiting for someone to broach into their proximity.

_Well, that's… convenient,_ he thought, chuckling awkwardly.

Beyond hearing the bots revving up and listening to their audio target lock on him, he heard the sound of multiple paces behind him, he indulged his curiosity and tilted his head to the side, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a group of applicants zeroing in on him.

More specifically, the line up of robots before him.

Not wanting to squander the advantage of getting a head start, he snapped his head back towards the bots and sucked in his breath.

_So much for being conservative,_ Izuku thought as he opened his mouth wide.

Something Izuku learned from training his quirk was that he could alter the width of his flames depending on how he opened his mouth. It was this concept that helped him create Kaachan's AP Shot. Limiting the surface area for the quirk would create a concentrated beam. At least, that's how it worked for Kaachan's quirk.

Vice versa would be a lot of surface area, and thus create an all encompassing cone. Kaachan's bigger explosions were a result of this. The drawback of such an explosion, however, was using up a lot of one's finite resource. In Kaachan's example, his sweat.

Izuku, could emulate the power, but not be hindered by the same drawback. His reserves far exceeded Kaachan's, and they could always be harmlessly replenished.

The sound of steps against concrete increased, as the multiple applicants were raring to unleash their quirks against the grouped up robots.

_Sorry to do this._ Izuku thought.

He opened his mouth wide and unleashed a beam of flames. The flamethrower speared forward, carving into the road and arced out into a massive cone of fire, covering from one end of the road to the other. The bots seared and crumbled into heaps of trash.

Izuku continued channeling his attack until his reserves went dry, promptly cutting off the stream of flames. He remained in spot for a second, internally reflecting on his attack.

_Not good enough to be considered an ultimate move, too expensive on my fuel. Istanbul Inferno is easier to control and carries a stronger punch to it too_, the teen surmised.

'W-what the hell was that dude?" An applicant shouted indignantly.

Izuku turned to face the group of students, they approached him with a lag to their step. Seemingly disheartened by his quirk, not that he blamed him. He undoubtedly was excessive.

"Oh, Uh, sorry. There should be more, stick to the main roads for now, that's where the most bots should be," Izuku apologized.

"Whatever man... why'd I have to get a center with a guy like him…" The applicant brushed off, murmuring the second part in a quiet resigned tone.

Izuku quirked an eyebrow confusingly as he watched the applicants scatter, some heeding his advice and pressing forward, others seeping into alleyways. The greenet shrugged, what they did with his advice was up to them.

He turned again to face the aftermath of his attack.

_Ah, I get it now,_ He thought.

The road was ripped up to pieces and charred black. The bots, or what remained were sizzling metal, with flames lingering on top of their robotic corpses.

The greenet sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before absorbing the remaining flames. He had a fraction of what he started with. He'd have to be incredibly frugal with his resources now. The advantage he had by being first into the battle center was used up, now, he'd have to compete against the others for the remaining robots.

An action Izuku didn't find to be particularly exciting. He didn't want to sabotage, or directly influence the failure of others, even for his competiton with Kaachan.

He raced forward, finding a purple haired applicant facing off against a one pointer. Seeing as how the applicant appeared to be severely struggling, Izuku decided to offer a hand.

"Hey, one pointer's are fast, you should focus on their wheel," Izuku instructed, sliding under the robot's swinging arm.

"Also, behind it, just underneath some of it's plating is a switch, use it to deactivate the bot" the greenet continued, pointing a finger at the aforementioned feature.

He recalled that deactivation was held to the same regard as destruction, so it was safe to assume the conspicuous switch for those with quirks incapable of hacking bots. A gamble, but a one-pointer was something he could defeat easily if his theory was wrong.

Izuku sprang back onto his feet and shot a small stream towards the bot's head. The bot shifted focus onto him and forgot all about the other applicant, who followed his instructions and got behind it.

The purple haired boy lunged for the switch, and flicked it. The lights flashed out, and the bot slumped forward as it crashed to the ground in a cloud of dust. Speaking of, the applicant gingerly inspected his scraped arms as he stood up.

"Why'd you help me?" The teen asked, walking up towards Izuku.

The greenet was mildly aware of the fact the applicant had hair wilder and messier than his own. He also had deep bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

Izuku eventually shrugged, "I just wanted to help."

"And you didn't want to take the point from me?" The teen questioned skeptically.

"You saw it first, just wouldn't feel right to take it from you," Izuku responded, "anyways, got to go, try to go for the switch if your quirk's not suited for direct combat."

Izuku didn't wait for a response, waving behind him as he ran forward. Time was of the essence after all. This became painfully apparent, as it turned out, bots were hard to come by. At least the one's unattended.

Izuku found himself using his fire reserves as decoys and distractions for his fellow applicants, they'd take their opportunity to take down the bots. The greenet would hastily murmur a quick apology before giving some quick advice before going on his way.

The greenet eventually decided that main streets were simply too crowded, and admittedly too distracting. Izuku simply could not, not help someone, even if they didn't ask. It was instinctive.

Shame those very instincts were causing him to keep giving up points.

He sighed as he ventured into an alley. Hopefully it could lead to unsuspecting bots. Izuku rounded a narrow corner that led into a circular opening, an intersection of sorts.

The teen only had a moment to dive out of a lumbering tail. It smashed through the wall easily, causing debris to cascade to the ground. Izuku barely got to his feet before needing to roll away from the collateral damage.

"You! Lend me a hand," He heard someone shout.

Izuku nodded before launching back onto his feet, he skidded on his soles as he turned to face the 2-pointer bot.

"I'll distract it, go for the switch at it's back, 2-pointers have them underneath their hull, y-"

"Much appreciated!" The person shouted.

Izuku traced the source, and found a blond boy making use of his distraction. The teen slid towards the bot, using his forward momentum to take him in between the bot's legs. He swiped upwards, nicking the switch to deactivate the bot.

The teen lunged onto his feet a few meters away from Izuku and started to dust himself, ignoring the sound of the 2-pointer crashing to the ground.

"Ah, I recall you, Mizuku Idoriya?"

"Midoriya Izuku, I'm sorry, but have we me-" Izuku froze, recognizing the smirk on the blond's face, "you're the guy from the recommendation exam!"

"Correct you are, it's me, Monoma Neito,"

"what are you doing here?" Izuku asked in his shock.

The blond frowned, "I should be asking you that, you bested me in the race after all."

"Ah… right, I wasn't fast enough," Izuku explained lamely.

"No kidding. Regardless, I'm certain only the one who created a functioning vehicle was," Monoma said dismissively.

"Probably," Izuku said, willing his mind not to go back to the painfully vivid details that entailed the creation of said vehicle.

_So much skin…_

Izuku slapped his cheeks before vehemently shaking his head, "anyways, with a quirk like yours, you'll definitely be accepted."

He received a bitter laugh in response, dry and dejected, "flattered, but I wouldn't be so sure."

"What makes you say that? Didn't manage to get a quirk?" Izuku asked innocently.

Monoma didn't interpret it as such, his frown deepening as he tensed at the question, "No guess not. I suppose I couldn't find a main character to leech off of."

"Wha-"

"Shameful, isn't it. Even deplorable the dependency I require. Resorting to underhanded tactics if I want to stand a chance against the rest of you," The blond concluded with a wistful smile.

Izuku raised his hand towards the blond. Monoma snapped his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth. He stared at the outstretched hand then towards the piercing green eyes.

"My intention wasn't to garner your pity," Monoma said, looking at the hand revoltingly.

"I'm not pitying you. Look, you've seen my quirk, you know how it works?"

"Uh… yes, I mean, of course I remember."

"Good, I'll transfer my fuel to you, you'll have less reserves than me, so you'll have to play conservative, aim for key parts, 1 pointers wheel, 2 pointers limbs, 3 point-"

"Stop, what are you doing?" The blond asked incredulously.

"Lending a hand?" Izuku asked back confusingly, waving aforementioned hand to cement his statement.

"I get that! Why would you ever?" The blond said, batting at the limb by his face.

"We know each other? We took the same recommendation exam," Izuku responded, puzzled.

"I only spoke to you to gain access to your quirk. I used you!"

The greenet shrugged, "You could have just tapped my shoulder or bumped into me. You chose to introduce yourself."

"T-that's it?" Monoma staggered, was he that simple minded?

"… no, I guess not. You and I both failed the recommendation. Yet, we're both here, determined to get admitted into this school. I can't really describe it, I guess I see you like a fellow comrade in arms? Besides, with a quirk as versatile and useful as yours, you belong here."

The blond gaped at Izuku for a second before falling back into a poised smile.

"Interesting, I'll have you know whether you pitied me or not, I was going to take your offer anyways. I'll do whatever it takes to be accepted into UA," The blond retconned, grabbing at Izuku's hand with more force than necessary.

"Of course, of course. Okay, I'll start, keep your mouth open."

Izuku didn't wait for a response and arced his head upwards, breathing fire. Monoma did as he was told and remained unsurprised when the flames went from one source to the other. Izuku stopped when he ran out, and quickly nodded towards the blond.

Izuku gave Monoma a quick run down of his quirk and the weak points of each bot. He left an overwhelmed Monoma in the alleyway, his blue eyes spinning from the sheer information overload.

The greenet exited the alley and found himself in a large plaza with applicants and bots alike. Without any fuel left in the tank, he'd have to find some way to create fire. 3 pointers could, so his best goal would be to assist those who were fighting them.

His gaze finally fell on a preoccupied 3 pointer across the wreckage and battlefield. What caught his attention was its apparent lack of fighter, but it's behaviour told Izuku otherwise. As he made his way closer, he became aware of some gloves, floating in the air.

Invisibility? He hoped the applicant wasn't naked. Although if the gloves were anything to go by, they likely were. Izuku sighed, invisibility did little in terms of combat, he might as well lend a hand.

With that in mind, Izuku put on a wide grin and dashed headlong into danger.

* * *

Katsuki torpedoed into a bot, rupturing it's insides with the sheer force of his landing. He pierced through the bot's torso like a molten bullet and crashed to the ground with an enveloping explosion.

Windows shattered and cascaded down onto the city block. The bots in the vicinity laid on the ground in ruined heaps. Katsuki smirked at his result before launching back into the air.

Flying was still an impossibility for Katsuki, but taking large leaps, using his momentum to zoom from one place to another, was well within the realms of his capabilities, and he flaunted it.

The moment Present Mic shouted at them to start, Katsuki didn't waste a single second dashing beyond the extras.

Sure some engine goody-two shoes caught up to him easily, but all that did was fuel Katsuki to push beyond his limits and to press every advantage he had. In this case, the ability to bypass smaller buildings all together.

One pointer, two, three, nothing stood a chance against the explosive teen's onslaught. He only needed a single explosion for each. The practical started 4, maybe 5 minutes ago?

Katsuki couldn't recall, everything was a blur. Leap into the air, find bots, crash into them and blow them up.

Rinse and repeat.

He didn't bother keeping count. It was a distraction, and besides, he'd undoubtedly lose count in the heat of the moment.

Speaking of heat, there was a rush of it before Katsuki was soaring through the air again. He found another huddle of villain-bots to decimate.

He opened with landing on the large three-pointer, then using it as a platform, erupting it as he took off into a group of one-pointers. They didn't even have the time to react before he incinerated them with a massive cone shaped explosion.

The force sent Katsuki flying back and evading a 2 pointer's swinging tail. He landed with a deft roll, using his momentum to spring back onto his feet. He fired into the ground, rocketing him upwards.

He weaved in the air, shifting his torso to face the ground again and ignited the offending 2 pointer, searing it down into a metallic husk.

He landed on a three pointer and ruptured the insides like paper mâché with a well-placed explosion. Katsuki had to admit, AP-Shot made these robots beyond easy, his fiery bullets shredded through even the three pointer's sturdier hull like it was nothing.

It made the blond smile ferally. He leaped off the destroyed remains of the bot and launched into the air again. Another section cleared out, another section to find. Up in the air gave the blond an unfair advantage over those stuck to the ground. He could practically see anything on the main roads. Alleys were impossible, not that it bothered him any. Alleys were for the weak who couldn't compete for their points. Not to mention there would just be less of them in there. Only an idiot wouldn't know that.

Katsuki finally spotted two group of bots further ahead. The closest was riddled with extras. He could probably take the points from them, but he didn't want to waste his time. The furthest group had far less applicants. Unfortunately, it was too far to make in a leap or from his point in the air, so instead, the blond allowed himself to fall back onto the ground, well timed explosions slowing his fall.

Once landing, he made a mad dash forward, whisking by applicants too caught up with their own fights. He didn't bother to dignify them with a moment's glance.

He was rudely interrupted when the battle center seemingly suffered a massive earthquake. Katsuki froze on the spot, keeping his arms outstretched to retain some semblance of balance. Whoever the hell did that had some fucking powerful quirk.

Suddenly, a gust of wind and dust surged through him, he instinctively raised his arms and squinted his eyes, the force pushed him back an inch. Once the dust died down, Katsuki was rendered speechless at the massive robot standing before him.

_Where the fuck did that thing come from?_ He thought incredulously, his mouth threatening to gape like a fish.

It was obviously the arena trap. Katsuki mentally ran through the details regarding the zero-pointer. It was supposed to be an obstacle. Katsuki was skeptical at first, seeing it now, he was willing to rectify the point. It was recommended to avoid the thing too.

Unfortunately, it 'spawned' directly between him and the group of villain bots he wanted to take out. Katsuki lamented that fact. An utter waste of time, the thing was nothing more than a glorified pylon. Avoiding it would be beyond easy, thing moved as if it were swimming through honey. The real question was, could he find a way to maneuver around it? He supposed hopping onto the buildings could work, take that angle. Maybe he could bait it into attacking him, dodging it shouldn't be a problem, he could then just leap pass it. Then again, the thing might focus hi-

Katsuki stiffened and blinked. He stared numbly at the hand that made its way towards his chin, was he dekuing just now?

He didn't have the time to ponder it, the sound of a pained cry drew his attention, his gaze zeroed in on some random applicant. She looked pinned down under some debris. How, he had no idea, he figured her leg was probably broken.

She looked familiar, but for the life of him he didn't know why. Whatever the case, he wouldn't think about it. She took the exam knowing the risks. What kind of idiot would take an exam to become a hero if she ended up needing one in…stead?

Katsuki blinked.

No way. UA only took the best of the best. That meant their applicants should resemble even a fraction of talented. Saving them? Helping his competitors? UA wouldn't reward that, they shouldn't! He was entirely in his right to leave the idiot be. This was a competition damnit. They couldn't fault him if he wanted to focus on getting points for himself.

Would it be like turning a blind eye? Not in his books, if anything, it'd be retribution for incompetence! If all you have to offer is the desire to become a hero, then it wasn't good enough! It takes more than that to make a hero.

The blond paused, his thoughts going back to an ill-fated conversation.

_"But, to answer your question, what I consider makes a hero? Altruism, a self-sacrificing spirit"_

_You got to be shitting me_. Katsuki thought exasperatedly. Of course, he had to think of that now of all times. Just when he was convincing himself that leaving, was the justified, correct course of action.

All Might graduated from this school. One could argue that besides his time in America, it was UA that helped shape him become who he was. If All Might's doctrine was one of altruism, then it could be argued that it was UA that molded that philosophy.

How was Katsuki supposed to leave now?

_Damn it! Fine! You want self-sacrifice? I'll fucking show you I can sacrifice! I can sacrifice the most! I'm altruistic as fuck!_ Katsuki internally ranted.

His features fell into a wicked snarl as he launched himself towards the brunette girl.

"EXTRA!"

The girl flinched as she yelped, "W-what!? Oh it's you!"

The explosive blond decided to file that for later as he landed beside the applicant. He knelt down beside her and inspected the pinned limb.

"Tell me your quirk. Can it do anything for this?" Katsuki demanded, pointing from her to the debris.

Seeing his viciously scary face, she mutedly nodded, "It's Zero Gravity, I ca-"

"Don't care, if you can deal with it, deal with it," He said firmly, standing from his position and turning to face the colossal robot.

"W-what? Didn't you come to help?"

"Of course!" the blond snapped, causing the girl to wilt under his tone.

She had no idea the boy she talked to was so loud, he was so quiet when she greeted him.

"Listen here extra, your dumbass needs saving because of that thing," Katsuki paused to point at the gigantic arena trap before continuing, "so, I'll get rid of it," the teen finished evenly.

"Get… rid of it?" she parroted slowly, understanding what he said but not actually understanding what he meant.

A wicked grin smeared itself across his face, prompting the brunette to remain silent and watch expectantly as Katsuki launched himself into the air.

He nimbly dodged the bot's cumbersome hand, getting over top it fast enough to use as an additional spring board. He took a few skittish steps along the massive metal arm before erupting it, torpedoing himself to soaring heights.

He wasn't familiar with maintaining his balance when going this fast. As a result, it was putting him under tremendous strain. His gaze flickered to the robot's arm, a smug smirk on his face seeing it mangled, metal jaggedly pointing outwards like an exit wound.

Said smirk fell from his face when he noticed it wasn't enough to incapacitate the arm. He shifted his gaze back up to the fast approaching face of the arena trap.

Once he reached an appropriate height, he started creating micro explosions, causing him spin like a cyclone. The lingering smoke tailed behind him before hastily enveloping him, it cocooned him inside its opaque veil. His momentum took him upwards, towards the bot's head.

He emerged from the smoke, a feral grin on his face, "Howitzer Impact!"

He slammed his open palm against red circular sensors. The force was palpable, sending rippling shock waves across the battle center. A colossal explosion erupted from his hand consuming the entirety of the bot's head in a rippling inferno. Katsuki felt searing pain run up his arm. He winced but refrained from crying out. The drawback was far stronger than he anticipated, one of the countless precautions Deku drilled into his head.

He inspected his attack. Smoke and fire consumed the bot's head, its arms suspended in place, as if commands were cut off from it. He allowed himself to smile.

It didn't last, much like the apparent defeat of the arena trap. The zero-pointer commenced it's trek forward, seamlessly unperturbed. He scowled before remembering.

Sacrifice.

He needed to risk everything. Anything less clearly wasn't going to cut it. He was an idiot if he thought he could just half-ass it and expect results. Instead of grimacing, he smirked.

He launched himself forward, ignoring the painful protests of his injured arm. He landed on top of the massive chest piece in a deft roll. He took a moment to reorient himself before continuing his trip towards the neck.

During his inspection, he became aware of the fact that the neck was exposed, it was left unprotected by the sturdy hull compared to the rest. As to why, he didn't know, perhaps an intentional design, to entice people to attack?

He didn't care. He was beside the smoldering head but ignored it in favour of staring at the base of the neck. It was at his mercy, as such, he went for the jugular.

"AP Shot," He intoned smugly.

He launched a concentrated beam, piercing through the metal like paper. Instead of being content with that, he jerked his hips and arms to the side, carving a line along the width of the neck.

He stopped his attack once it slashed out through the front, he fell to a knee as both of his arms hanged behind him to his right. Instantly, an explosion broke out, shoving Katsuki off the edge and plummeting towards the ground. Subsequent explosions were set off all over the zero-pointer like fireworks.

He'd appreciate it more if his hands weren't burning in agony, pulsing and numb all the same. It'd also help if he wasn't falling from lethal heights. He did allow himself to smirk triumphantly though.

He shifted his body, facing downwards. All he had to do was slow his descend. Sure, using his already exhausted and busted arms would hurt like hell, but it was still far better than the alterna-

_Is that a hand?_

* * *

**AN: Okay, okay. Where to start! uh, **

**First, I guess I'll talk about Monoma. When I was planning for this story, I was initially going to have Monoma as the fourth recommended student, (since it wasn't revealed yet who it was). Additionally, his motives were also unknown. Technically, from where I am in the manga, they still are. So, I hope you can spare me if I somehow slaughtered his characterization. Let's go with the excuse that it's an AU? Any takers? Please? Heehee... Anyways, now knowing who the fourth recommended student is, I decided to go with her instead, (I'm not even there in terms of the manga either...).**

**Onto the next point! The reason why I have Katsuki and Izuku switch battle centers bottles down to one thing: Ochaco. Realistically, she didn't amount enough points to pass on her own in canon. And although I want it to be AU, I don't want it to be THAT AU. Ya feel me? That's the sole reason. KatsukixOchaco is not a thing, not intended at least. I mean, you decide? **

**On another note, the last scene took me 6 hours to write. SIX! My inability to write action scenes is so disappointing it's looping back to impressive! **

**And finally, I have 1 exam left on the 25th, then it's back to office drone for the summer! At least I have time to write again, also time to game, read, socialize and exercise... Hmm, this isn't what I had in mind when I wanted to disclose this.**

**Reviews are much appreciated. Until next time! **


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